Mechanical separation and recovery process of anode materials from spent lithium-ion batteries

Based on the analysis of the structure and properties of anodes,the pulverization,vibratory screening and pneumatic separation were utilized to separate and recover the copper and carbon powder in the anodes from spent lithium-ion batteries.The metal grade in the samples and separation products were determined by ICP-AES.The results indicate that anode materials are pulverized first and then sieved,the grades of copper(0.250 mm) and carbon powder(0.125 mm) in the crushed particles reach 92.4% and 96.6%,respectively,which can be recycled directly.As for the specific particles(0.125-0.250 mm) with low copper grade,the pneumatic separation was applied to achieve an effective separation of copper and carbon particle.When the flow velocity is 1.00 m/s,the recovery rate and grade of copper reach 92.3% and 84.4%,respectively.