Electrochemical process for electrode material of spent lithium ion batteries

Electrochemical method for recovering cobalt and manganese from electrode materials of spent lithium ion batteries was studied. Electrochemical leaching of cobalt and manganese from electrode material was optimized by varying different process parameters such as time, acid concentration and current density. Both cobalt and manganese could effectively be leached out at a current density of 400 A/m2 in 3 h using 2 M sulphuric acid. In the subsequent study, the metallic cobalt and electrolytic manganese dioxides was recovered from the leach liquor at 200 A/m2, pH 2–2.5 and 90 °C after removing aluminum. The commercial feasibility of the study was tested in pilot scale. Overall recovery of Co, Cu and Mn was above 96%, 97% and 99%, respectively.