Sustainable regeneration of high-performance LiCoO2 from completely failed lithium-ion batteries

Lingyu Kong; Zhuo Li; Wenhui Zhu; Chirag R Ratwani; Niranjala Fernando; Shadeepa Karunarathne; Amr M Abdelkader; Ali Reza Kamali; Zhongning Shi

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2023.03.021

Sustainable regeneration of high-performance LiCoO₂ from completely failed lithium-ion batteries

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2023 Jun 15:640:1080-1088. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.03.021. Epub 2023 Mar 7.

Authors

Lingyu Kong¹, Zhuo Li², Wenhui Zhu³, Chirag R Ratwani⁴, Niranjala Fernando⁴, Shadeepa Karunarathne⁴, Amr M Abdelkader⁵, Ali Reza Kamali⁶, Zhongning Shi⁷

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory for Ecological Metallurgy of Multimetallic Mineral (Ministry of Education), Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China; Department of Design and Engineering, Bournemouth University, Talbot Campus, Poole BH12 5BB, United Kingdom.
² Key Laboratory for Ecological Metallurgy of Multimetallic Mineral (Ministry of Education), Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China.
³ Energy and Environmental Materials Research Centre (E(2)MC), School of Metallurgy, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China.
⁴ Department of Design and Engineering, Bournemouth University, Talbot Campus, Poole BH12 5BB, United Kingdom.
⁵ Department of Design and Engineering, Bournemouth University, Talbot Campus, Poole BH12 5BB, United Kingdom. Electronic address: aabdelkader@bournemouth.ac.uk.
⁶ Energy and Environmental Materials Research Centre (E(2)MC), School of Metallurgy, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China. Electronic address: ali@mail.neu.edu.cn.
⁷ State Key Laboratory of Rolling and Automation, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China. Electronic address: znshi@mail.neu.edu.cn.

PMID: 36931011
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.03.021

Abstract

Utilising the solid-state synthesis method is an easy and effective way to recycle spent lithium-ion batteries. However, verifying its direct repair effects on completely exhausting cathode materials is necessary. In this work, the optimal conditions for direct repair of completely failed cathode materials by solid-state synthesis are explored. The discharge capacity of spent LiCoO₂ cathode material is recovered from 21.7 mAh g^-1 to 138.9 mAh g^-1 under the optimal regeneration conditions of 850 °C and n(Li)/n(Co) ratio of 1:1. The regenerated materials show excellent electrochemical performance, even greater than the commercial LiCoO₂. In addition, based on the whole closed-loop recycling process, the economic and environmental effects of various recycling techniques and raw materials used in the battery production process are assessed, confirming the superior economic and environmental feasibility of direct regeneration method.

Keywords: Batteries recycling; Circular economy; Completely failed cathode material; Environmental and economic assessment; Spent lithium-ion batteries.