Lithium batteries recycling process

Facilities that do not fall into the p)n ometallurgical category involve wet chemistry processes. Only two such processes are known and only one has processed high volumes of all types of lithium batteries. These processes generally produee cleaner recycled products, less waste from the process, and are dedieated strictly to processing lithium batteries. 

Toxco, a Southern California environmental firm, developed the most successful lithium recycling processing technique for all lithium batteries regardless of size or type. The process was developed and brought to commercial use in 1992 to meet the need for lithium battery recycling in military systems. It has been strongly improved over the years and has resulted in many U.S. patents. 

Another key battery component is the electrolyte. While many possible electrolytes are being developed, we have selected lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPFe) in a solvent of EC and DMC. Little information exists on the production of LiPFe, so its impact, although estimated on the basis of data presented by Espinosa et al. [12], is somewhat uncertain. Given the potentially harmfiil nature of the compound, it is of interest to consider what its fate may be during the battery recycling process, which we address in Section 4. 

Toxco process and Sony/Sumitomo process are the oldest industrial methods of lithium battery recycling. The Canadian company uses mechanical and hydrometallurgical... 

Lithium battery recycling is a relatively new but rapidly expanding process. All companies mainly focus on cobalt recovery, as it is the most expensive material, but some companies (e.g. Accurec, Toxco) recover also lithium. Specialists estimate an increase of the lithium... 

Shredded circuit boards. Circuit boards are metal boards that hold computer chips, thermostats, batteries, and other electronic components. Circuit boards can be found in computers, televisions, radios, and other electronic equipment. When this equipment is thrown away, these boards can be removed and recycled. Whole circuit boards meet the definition of scrap metal, and are therefore exempt from hazardous waste regulation when recycled. On the other hand, some recycling processes involve shredding the board. Such shredded boards do not meet the exclusion for recycled scrap metal. In order to facilitate the recycling of such materials, U.S. EPA excluded recycled shredded circuit boards from the definition of solid waste, provided that they are stored in containers sufficient to prevent release to the environment, and are free of potentially dangerous components, such as mercury switches, mercury relays, nickel-cadmium batteries, and lithium batteries. 

Prior to the processing of any lithium battery for recycling, the battery s material safety data sheet should be reviewed, and, if necessary, a complete analysis should be performed to determine the waste products. Components and chemicals are unique to each manufacturer and not each type of lithium battery. Many are similar but none are identical. Compoimds that can cause serious concern if overlooked include chrome, arsenic, fluorine, mercury, organic solvents, asbestos, lithium, and others. At the end of this chapter are two typical battery analyses performed by Toxco Inc., exemplifying the... 

There is no hazardous waste generated when lithium batteries are recycled at Toxco Inc. There is no municipal sewer system in the processing area and air emissions are collected via a direct-capture-system over each of the reaction areas. These fumes are processed through three air filters coimected in series the first is a wet bed fume scrubber which removes particulate material, the second is a traveling bed filter to further remove particulate material, and the third treats the emissions chemically. Each year Toxco is required to hire an outside environmental audit firm to test the emissions for conformance with their permit. The 1999 results are presented in Table 1. As one can see the emissions are quite minor in comparison to the allowable limits. 

Toxco, Inc. has developed processes to recover lithium as lithium carbonate from lithium batteries and other types of lithium-containing wastes [30]. As much as 98% of the available lithium can be recovered, along with a similar fraction of the available cobalt (Co) and much of the aluminum (Al), iron (Fe), and nickel (Ni). The lithium carbonate can be returned to lithium production and Pacific Lithium, Ltd. has done this. More recently, Toxco has acquired facilities to convert the lithium carbonate back into electrolyte salts for lithium batteries. Clearly, it is feasible and profitable to recycle the cobalt cathode and lithium components of these batteries. 

The lithium-polymer version of these batteries is another area where work is needed. Lithium-polymer batteries are being rapidly developed for portable consumer electronics applications and may be used in the future for EV/HEVs since the polymer design mitigates safety concerns regarding lithium metal in large cells. Some work to develop recycling processes is under way, but no details have been published and no process test data have been made available. Although many of the constituents are shared in common with the Li-ion battery system, the presence of a solid polymer... 

Recycling of more materials (lithium, aluminum, plasties, and electrolyte solutions) is possible since combustion of the battery is not part of the process. 

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