KIT scientists discover aluminium in cathode can lead to energy-efficient battery recycling to recover lithium

The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) has formulated a new way of battery recycling which can recover up to 70 per cent of the lithium without engaging corrosive chemicals, high temperatures or prior sorting processes.

The fact is, the aluminium usage in the new recycling method as a reducing agent for the mechanochemical reaction saves the application of chemicals and high temperatures. Scientiests explain that no other chemicals are needed due to the presence of aluminium in the cathode.

Mechanochemical reaction is a process that uses mechanical processes at room temperature and at normal air pressure to bring about chemical reactions.

In the new recycling process, the battery waste is ground up to recover the lithium, during which reaction with the aluminium, results in the formation of metallic composites with water-soluble lithium compounds. “The lithium is then recovered by dissolving the water-soluble compounds in water and then heating them to remove the water by evaporation,” the KIT explains.

“The method is suitable for recovering lithium from cathode materials of different chemical compositions and thus for many different commercially available lithium-ion batteries,” explains Oleksandr Dolotko, lead author of the publication. “It allows for cost-effective, energy-efficient and environmentally friendly recycling.”

The KIT researchers believe the process is simple, which will facilitate its use on an industrial scale.

Researchers from the Institute for Applied Materials – Energy Storage Systems (IAM-ESS) at KIT, the Helmholtz Institute Ulm for Electrochemical Energy Storage (HIU) and EnBW have also contributed their skills in developing this new energy-efficient recycling process.