SBIR Phase I: Separations of Critical Materials in Lithium-ion Battery Black Mass

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是建立大部分或全部依赖进口的关键能源材料的国内可回收性（循环性）。这些元素包括钴、锂、锰、碳（石墨）和镍。建立关键材料的循环可以减少对国外资源的依赖，同时增加锂离子电池、磁铁、催化剂和高温合金的国内制造。随着世界轻型和重型汽车的电气化以及可再生能源的增加，对电池材料的需求预计将在未来十年内翻两番。湿法冶金过程非常细致和完善；配置几乎是无穷无尽的，特别是在合并多个回收流时。此外，客户要求严格的规格。随着电池化学成分的发展，一种可以适应不同成分的工艺技术可以帮助国内生产的激增，以锚定先进产业。该SBIR一期项目旨在利用亚硫酸盐填补分离化学方面的知识空白。通过利用溶解度，有效和高效地分离报废锂离子电池中的成分可以减少试剂消耗，减小设备尺寸，并形成电池级化学原料，从而实现供应链循环。该项目成功的关键是在不使用昂贵的溶剂型技术的情况下分离锰。该项目将探索Ni/Co/Mn/Li亚硫酸盐的溶解度随温度和pH值的变化，表征沉淀的形式，并研究这些亚硫酸盐沉淀氧化成高纯度硫酸盐的过程。目标包括确定一般材料性质文献中关于经验溶解度的缺失数据，展示实验室规模的选择性和整体功效，并优化技术经济和生命周期建模的操作参数。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to establish domestic recyclability (circularity) for critical energy materials that have majority or total import reliance. Such elements include including cobalt, lithium, manganese, carbon (graphite), and nickel. Establishing circularity of critical materials can decease dependence on foreign sources while increasing domestic manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries, magnets, catalysts, and superalloys. As the world electrifies light- and heavy-duty vehicles and renewable energy resources increase, the need for battery materials is expected to quadruple over the next decade. Hydrometallurgical processes are highly nuanced and well-established; The configurations are nearly endless, especially when multiple recycle streams are incorporated. Additionally, customers require tight specifications. As battery chemistries evolve, a process technology that can be shown to be adaptable to variable compositional profiles can help proliferate domestic production to anchor advanced industries. This SBIR Phase I project proposes to fill knowledge gaps in separation chemistries using sulfites. Through exploitation of solubilities, effective and efficient separations of constituents in end-of-life lithium-ion batteries can reduce reagent consumption, decrease equipment sizing, and lead to the formation of battery-grade chemical feedstocks for demonstrated supply chain circularity. Key to the success of the project is the separation of manganese without resorting to expensive solvent-based techniques. The project will explore of the solubilities of Ni/Co/Mn/Li sulfites as a function of temperature and pH, characterize the form of the precipitates, and investigate the oxidation of these sulfite precipitates to a high purity sulfate. The objectives include determining missing data on empirical solubility from the general material property literature, demonstrating lab-scale selectivity and overall efficacy, and optimizing operational parameters for techno-economic and life-cycle modeling.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.