Recovery of value-added products from cathode and anode material of spent lithium-ion batteries

Herein we report a low cost and eco-friendly approach for the recovery of metals from cathode and anode materials of mobile phone spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Li-based metal oxide and graphite were efficiently separated from their respective foils and used for lixiviation. Acetic acid (CH3COOH) and water were used as lixiviants for the recovery of metals from cathode and anode materials respectively. It was found that with 3 M Acetic acid and 7.5 vol% H2O2 as reducing agent 99.9% Li, 98.7% Co, and 99.5% Mn were leached out from cathode material in 40 min at 70 °C and a pulp density of 20 g/L. Besides the cathode leaching, Li was also extracted from anodic material graphite using water as a solvent and further recovered as solid Li2CO3 (99.7% Li). The kinetic evaluation of the cathode lixiviate process was studied using three different shrinking-core kinetic Models and established that the reaction follows the product layer diffusion controlled mechanism. From the cathode leach liquor, 99% Co was recovered as metal sulfide by controlled sulfide precipitation with 99.2% purity, and subsequently, MnCO3 and Li2CO3 were obtained with the purity of 98.7% and 99.4%, respectively. The purity of the salts revealed that these products recovered from spent LIBs might be utilized in the electrochemical energy-storage applications. In addition, this recycling process would promote the sustainable development of the battery industry.