A Review on Green Method of Extraction and Recovery of Energy Critical Element Cobalt from Spent Lithium-Ion Batteries (LIBs)

Cobalt is a key element of the lithium-ion batteries that supply energy and continuous power to several electronic equipments such as cellphones, computers, and electric vehicles. Due to the depletion of primary sources of metal extraction and limited supply, countries are now focusing on recycling secondary resources for economic and sustainable management. Though the majority of the technologies involved are focused on industrial-scale development, they lack eco-friendliness and efficiency. The dead lithium-ion batteries containing several valuable metals such as cobalt, lithium, manganese and nickel are regarded as an appealing secondary resource. Battery recycling is required not only to reduce energy consumption but also to alleviate the scarcity of rare resources and eliminate pollution from hazardous components, as the world moves toward more sustainable industries such as consumer electronics and electric vehicles. The significance of cobalt recovery from secondary resources is emphasized in this paper. From the research, it is found that the amount of cobalt is more in the spent LIBs. Hence, focus is given on the green method of leaching of the spent Lithium-ion batteries (LIB) and extracting the valuable metals such as cobalt, nickel and lithium using organic acids. The method of using organic acids as leachant is environmentally friendly, cost-effective, and has the potential to provide sustainable development in the battery industry. This initiative is aimed to stimulate people's interest in wasted LIBs recycling with organic acids and raise awareness of the benefits.