Recovery of Lithium from Waste Lithium-ion Batteries-A Review

The use of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is on stimulating expansion and is expected to increase remarkably. The primary and secondary LIBs have been extensively used in electronic industries and are surging high in hybrid electric vehicles. The considerable use of LIBs could lead to the high accumulation of lithium and lead to the dissipation of the natural lithium reserves. The waste LIBs contain toxic chemicals and heavy metals that are hazardous to the environment. Thus, tremendous research work is being carried out for recycling spent LIBs. This will minimise the pollution from inappropriate disposal of Li in e-waste and would aim towards sustainable development. This review introduces the structure of LIBs and different composition of cathode material used in LIBs. It further discusses the various technologies including pre-treatment processes, pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy involved in recovering Li from waste LIBs. Additionally, challenges and suggestions for improving current recycling process have been presented.