EAGER: CET: Biohydrometallurgic Recycling of Spent Li-ion Batteries

这一早期概念探索性研究(AGUGER)奖是对亲爱的同事信23-109的回应，作为NSF范围内清洁能源技术倡议的一部分。电气化一直是现代社会的一个标志。然而，由于电动汽车和消费品对锂离子电池的高需求，不断增加的废品量是一个令人严重担忧的问题。开发具有成本效益的绿色锂离子电池正极回收是至关重要的，也是为了缓解关键矿物的可及性问题。该项目研究了一种利用微生物回收电池关键正极矿物(如镍、钴、锰和锂)的新方法。该项目的电池回收方法被称为生物湿法冶金，有望解决与传统回收方法相关的担忧，传统回收方法要么依赖能源密集型高温方法，要么依赖有毒/腐蚀性加工化学品。相反，主要的研究人员依靠活的有机体来完成从废电池中回收金属的工作。该项目建立在最近利用微生物实现这一目的的变革性成功的基础上，但通过探索以绿色、自给自足的方式利用废旧电池中已有的材料为活体的功能提供动力，向前迈出了根本的一步。这一概念有望改变电池材料的再利用方式。这项研究可以为用清洁可再生能源为社会提供能源的目标做出重大贡献。扩大该项目影响的教育努力包括在夏季接待高中生，在波士顿学院的比赛日接触体育迷。此外，还开展了配套的外联活动，教育公众材料研究对可持续未来的影响。该项目将讨论如何使用生物湿法冶金方法回收废锂离子电池(LIB)。由于最近LiB扩散导致废旧电池迅速积累，该项目回应了一个新出现的关键挑战，它可能改变废旧电池回收关键矿物的方式。材料化学家王教授和微生物学家莫梅尼教授研究了氧化亚铁硫杆菌(ATF)，这是一类利用无机化合物作为能源并在极端酸性环境中生存的细菌，是一种潜在的自我维持的Lib循环介质。关键的创新是利用废电池外壳废金属中丰富的铁作为主要食物来源，以维持细菌的生长和繁殖，细菌的自然新陈代谢产生酸性溶液，从废电池中浸出包括镍、锰和钴在内的关键矿物质。这个项目承诺了一个回收方案，要求最大限度地减少有毒和/或腐蚀性化学品的运输。这一奖项反映了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。

This EArly-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) award is made in response to Dear Colleague Letter 23-109, as part of the NSF-wide Clean Energy Technology initiative. Electrification has been a hallmark of modern society. However, due to the high demand of lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles and consumer products, the ever-increasing amount of waste is a critical concern. The development of green and cost-effective recycling of lithium-ion battery cathodes is of utmost importance, also to mitigate accessibility issues for critical minerals. This project investigates a new approach of utilizing microorganisms for the recovery of key battery cathode minerals (such as nickel, cobalt, manganese, and lithium). Known as biohydrometallurgy, the project’s battery recycling approach promises to address concerns associated with traditional recycling methods that rely on either energy-intensive high temperature methods or toxic/corrosive processing chemicals. Instead, the principal investigators rely on living organisms to accomplish the recovery of metals from spent batteries. This project builds on transformative recent successes in using microorganisms for such purpose but takes a fundamental step forward through the exploration of powering the functionality of the living organisms using materials already available in waste batteries in a green, self-sufficient fashion. The concept promises to transform how battery materials are reused. The research could contribute significantly to the goal of powering the society with energy from clean renewable sources. Educational efforts to broaden the impacts of the project include hosting high school students during the summer and reaching out to sports fans during Boston College’s game days. Moreover, complementary outreach activities are developed to educate the public about the implications of materials research for a sustainable future.The project will address how spent lithium-ion batteries (LIB) can be recycled using a biohydrometallurgy approach. This project responds to an emerging critical challenge due to the rapid accumulation of spent batteries as a result of recent LIB proliferation, and it could transform how spent batteries are recycled for the recovery of critical minerals. Prof. Wang, a material chemist, and Prof. Momeni, a microbiologist, examine Acidothiobacillus ferrooxidans (Atf), a class of bacteria that uses inorganic compounds as a source of energy and survive in extremely acidic environments, as a potential medium for self-sustained LIB recycling. The key innovation is to utilize iron that is abundant in the scrap metal of the spent battery casing as the main food source to sustain the growth and reproduction of the bacteria, whose natural metabolism produces acidic solutions to leach key minerals, including Ni, Mn, and Co, from spent batteries. This project promises a recycling scheme that requires minimum transportation of toxic and/or corrosive chemicals.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.