I-Corps: Recovery of lithium and related materials from spent lithium batteries and lithium battery industry electrode waste

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发锂电池回收工艺，以回收必要的金属。随着减少污染的努力和电动汽车等电动技术的采用，电池需求预计将随着电池浪费的增加而增加。拟议的进程可能有助于确保向当地锂电池市场可靠地供应基本资源，以及安全有效地处理锂电池废料。此外，该工艺还可在金属回收过程中节省成本，并有助于补充锂储能技术制造所需的当地金属供应。拟议的高效电池废物处理可能有助于防止锂电池废物管理不当，并促进锂电池市场的可持续性。这个i-Corps项目基于开发回收工艺，从与锂电池相关的废物中回收金属材料。该工艺采用氢碘酸为基础的溶液，通过浸出锂电池正极材料中的关键金属进行选择性回收。在传统的湿法锂电池回收操作中，使用高温来改善工艺动力学，并在浸出介质中添加还原剂以提高正极金属回收率。然而，这导致了与实现高温所需的能源需求和购买还原剂相关的成本。此外，这些系统还会产生有毒气体化合物，如氯、氮氧化物和硫氧化物。该提议的过程被证明在接近环境温度、不使用还原剂且不产生有毒气体的情况下，回收金属的速度平均快9倍。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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 I-Corps project is the development of a lithium battery recycling process to recover essential metals. With the drive towards less pollution and the adoption of electric technologies such as electric vehicles, battery demand is predicted to increase along with battery waste. The proposed process may help to ensure the reliable supply of essential resources to the local lithium battery market as well as the safe and effective treatment of lithium battery waste. In addition, the process may allow for cost savings during the metal recovery process and aid in supplementing the local supply of metals for lithium-based energy storage technology manufacture. The proposed efficient battery waste process may serve to prevent improper lithium battery waste management and foster sustainability within the lithium battery market.This I-Corps project is based on the development of a recycling process for the recovery of metal-based materials from waste associated with lithium batteries. The proposed process applies a hydroiodic acid-based solution for the selective recovery via leaching of critical metals from lithium battery cathode material. In conventional hydrometallurgical lithium battery recycling operations, elevated temperatures are used to improve process kinetics and a reducing agent is added to the leaching media to improve cathode metal recoveries. However, this results in costs associated with energy requirements to achieve high temperatures and the purchase of reducing agents. In addition, these systems result in the production of toxic gaseous compounds such as chlorine, nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides. The proposed process has been shown to recover metals, on average, nine times faster, at temperatures close to ambient in the absence of a reducing agent, and without toxic gas production.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.