A review on technologies for recovery of metals from waste lithium-ion batteries

Lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) market has emerged drastically, and the amount of obsolete or waste LiBs also increased. The present review discusses a variety of current technologies for the secondary utilization of used LiBs (echelon utilization) and recycling waste LiBs (direct recycling, hydrometallurgy, pyrometallurgy, bioleaching, and other alternative biological processes), with the goal of advancing waste LiBs recycling, especially in support of industrialization and recycling processes. A bibliometric analysis on the recycling of waste LiBs and their associated technologies carried out using VOSviewer software indicated that the biological techniques have not yet been developed as compared to direct, hydrometallurgical, and pyrometallurgical technologies. Furthermore, it provides a brief overview of advances in biological approaches, such as bioleaching, biosorption, and bio-electrochemical systems, towards the recovery of metals from waste LiBs. In this study, new directions for effective waste LiBs processing towards resource/waste management sustainability are also identified.