Existing Methods for EV Battery Recycling

As part of a broad assessment of the general recyclability of automotive batteries done in the mid-1990s, a report on recycling technology was prepared for the California Environmental Protection Agency Air Resources Board [16]. Ten different EV battery technologies were ranked based on their performance and recyclability. The battery chemistries that were included in this study are presented in Table 3. Because the recycling capacity available for some of these batteries was minimal in 1995 and the 

Lead-acid (all types) Lithium/iron disulfide 

Nickel/metal hydride Zinc (zinc-air, zinc/bromine) 

Lead-acid batteries received a high score by virtue of being a commercial product with an established recycling infrastructure. Nickel/metal hydride and nickel/cadmium are also widely available commercially and are routinely recycled. Zinc batteries are sold in large quantities and little or no hazardous waste and pollutants are produced by processing. Most of the battery technologies farther down the list are ranked lower because the batteries are not commercial products and recycling processes are not developed any further than a bench scale. In the case of sodium/sulflir batteries, the market outlook for recovered products is unfavorable. 

Because the market for lead-acid batteries is already extremely large, even a significant penetration of the EV application by this battery chemistry is not expected to have a noticeable impact on the ability of industry to continue the present high recycling rate. A study was conducted in 1996 and confirmed this low impact of increased EV use on 

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