Grinding up old batteries might lead to a low-energy way to recycle the lithium and other metals used in them
Such batteries contain lithium compounds and other metals, such as cobalt or nickel. Although the supply of these metals is not critically running low, recycling them is becoming more important because battery-powered devices are becoming more prevalent as part of the transition away from fossil-fuel energy. The European Union has set a target of 80% lithium recovery for all batteries by 2031.
A separation method known as water-based leaching and further purification produced the recycled lithium compound: lithium carbonate, which can be used to make more batteries. The team tested both processes with different cathode materials used in batteries, as well as a mixture of the cathodes. The improved process recovered 75% of the lithium from a mix of cathode materials.Mechanochemistry is not typically used in commercial chemical processes, and exactly how mechanical force initiates chemical reactions isn’t completely understood, says Dolotko. “It is really hard to say how it happens,” he says.
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