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

探索性研究的早期概念补助金（EAGER）奖是为了响应亲爱的同事信23-109而设立的，是nsf清洁能源技术倡议的一部分。电气化已成为现代社会的一个标志。然而，由于电动汽车和消费产品对锂离子电池的高需求，不断增加的废物量是一个关键问题。开发绿色、经济高效的锂离子电池阴极回收是至关重要的，也可以缓解关键矿物的可及性问题。本项目研究了一种利用微生物回收关键电池阴极矿物（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问题，这些方法依赖于高能耗的高温方法或有毒/腐蚀性的处理化学品。相反，主要研究人员依靠生物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，但通过探索利用废旧电池中已有的材料以绿色、自给自足的方式为生物体的功能提供动力，迈出了根本性的一步。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的可再生能源为社会提供动力的目标做出重大贡献。扩大项目影响的教育努力包括在夏季接待高中生，并在波士顿学院比赛日期间接触体育迷。此外，还开展了补充性的外联活动，向公众宣传材料研究对可持续未来的影响。该项目将研究如何利用生物湿法冶金方法回收废旧锂离子电池（LIB）。由于最近锂离子电池的扩散，废旧电池的迅速积累，该项目应对了一个新出现的关键挑战，它可以改变废旧电池的回收方式，以回收关键矿物。材料化学家王教授和微生物学家Momeni教授研究了氧化亚铁酸硫杆菌（Acidothiobacillus ferrooxidans, Atf），这是一类利用无机化合物作为能量来源并在极酸性环境中生存的细菌，作为自我维持锂离子电池回收的潜在介质。关键的创新是利用废电池外壳的废金属中丰富的铁作为维持细菌生长和繁殖的主要食物来源，细菌的自然代谢产生酸性溶液，以浸出废电池中的关键矿物质，包括Ni， Mn和Co。该项目承诺了一个回收方案，需要最少的运输有毒和/或腐蚀性化学品。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。

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.