Upscaled Recycling of Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (NMC) Cathode Using an Automated Electrochemical System towards Low-Carbon Utilization of Waste Lithium-Ion Battery (LIB)

Abstract

The electrochemical approach has emerged as a low-carbon, environmentally friendly, and efficient recycling technique for waste lithium-ion battery (LIB) management. Conventional recycling techniques of pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy recycle large volumes of waste LIBs to the detriment of both human and environmental health. The need for sustainable management of LIB waste driven by the gaining popularity of electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage solutions (ESS) has called for innovative recycling solutions, such as electrochemical recycling. However, the growth of the electrochemical approach has been limited to lab-scale testing. Herein, a simple and sophisticated recycling technique centered on the electrochemical approach is developed. The designed system showed superior performance in the selective leaching of lithium from spent lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) cathode material at different operating voltages with the minimum lithium leaching efficiency being over 80%. The cathode regenerated post-recycling achieves a capacity retention of 82.6%, outperforming the 80.6% obtained by commercial NMC after 200 cycles, owing to faster kinetics and lower impedance.