Cost-Effective and Scalable Approach for the Separation and Direct Cathode Recovery from End-of-Life Li-Ion Batteries

Abstract

Li-ion battery recycling presents a promising opportunity to decrease dependence on foreign sources of materials and harvest precious materials within the United States. Herein, a superior complete direct recycling process on individual end-of-life cells is reported where the recovered high-purity cathode active material, as well as electrolyte salt Li hexafluorophosphate (LiPF₆) can be reused without significant processing. This new process utilizes a series of mechanical separation steps that enable the separation of the cathode and anode active materials while they are still attached to their current collectors. Using this type of process can significantly reduce metal contamination and enable a clean cathode that can be directly recycled. The process if implemented commercially can greatly reduce the environmental burden of batteries as the greenhouse gas emissions of 8.25 kg CO₂e kg⁻¹ from the direct recycling process are 64% lower compared to those from virgin production of cathode material. During electrochemical testing of the recovered LiNi_0.6Mn_0.2Co_0.2O₂ a discharge capacity of ≈160 mAh g⁻¹ and good cyclability of over 250 cycles at 0.33C are achieved. This success paves a new pathway to explore and optimize existing Li-ion battery recycling procedures.