A closed loop process for recycling spent lithium ion batteries

Abstract As lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries continue to increase their market share, recycling Li-ion batteries will become mandatory due to limited resources. We have previously demonstrated a new low temperature methodology to separate and synthesize cathode materials from mixed cathode materials. In this study we take used Li-ion batteries from a recycling source and recover active cathode materials, copper, steel, etc. To accomplish this the batteries are shredded and processed to separate the steel, copper and cathode materials; the cathode materials are then leached into solution; the concentrations of nickel, manganese and cobalt ions are adjusted so Ni x Mn y Co z (OH) 2 is precipitated. The precipitated product can then be reacted with lithium carbonate to form LiNi x Mn y Co z O 2 . The results show that the developed recycling process is practical with high recovery efficiencies (∼90%), and 1 ton of Li-ion batteries has the potential to generate $5013 profit margin based on materials balance.