According to a study published in the journal Green Chemistry, a team of researchers at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom developed a new method to recycle lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles. More familiar method. The process involves the use of ultrasound to remove valuable chemicals such as nickel and lithium from end-of-life electric car batteries.

Currently, the most common way to recycle old car lithium-ion batteries is to send the batteries into a shredder or high-temperature reactor. However, this is very inefficient and intensive, because a complex set of chemical and physical processes are then required to separate any reusable materials.

Carefully disassemble the batteries instead of shredding them, so you can recycle more materials and keep them in a cleaner state. In fact, disassembling lithium-ion batteries can produce up to 80% of the original material, which is in much better condition and can be reused. The stumbling block is that the removal and separation of key components such as lithium, cobalt, manganese, and nickel is a slow and time-consuming process.

Now, a team of researchers from the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom has developed a method to separate these elements in a fast, cheap and environmentally friendly way by adjusting the technology already used by the food preparation industry and dentists. The new method uses ultrasound to separate valuable chemical elements from the electrodes to ensure that they can be recycled from the battery.

This technique, called ultrasonic delamination, can remove the active material from the battery, leaving only clean aluminum or copper electrodes. The team has achieved excellent results in the removal of graphite and lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (commonly known as NMC). They also tested the program on the four most common battery types and found that it is highly efficient in each case.

"This novel procedure is 100 times faster than traditional battery recycling technology, is more environmentally friendly, and the purity of the recycled materials is higher," said Professor Abbot, the lead author of the study. "It works on the same principle as the dentist’s ultrasonic descaling agent, which can break the bond between the coating and the substrate. The initial use of this technology is likely to send recycled materials directly back to the battery production line. This is battery recycling. Moment of real change".

Researchers realize that to maximize the value of batteries, they must focus on the entire life cycle-from mining the key elements used in the manufacturing process to recycling and reuse in other applications. This is the only way to create a circular economy that is both profitable and sustainable.

Based on these promising results, the researchers have begun negotiations with multiple battery manufacturers and recycling companies to create a site to test the program. The long-term goal is to obtain a license for the technology.

(1) Lei C, Aldous I, Hartley J, Thompson D, Scott S, Hanson R, Anderson A, Kendrick E, Sommerville R, Ryder K and Abbott A (2021) Recycling of lithium-ion batteries using high-intensity ultrasonic treatment. Green Chemistry, 2021, Advanced Article DOI: 10.1039/D1GC01623G

In his previous life, Alex was a researcher in the field of cell and molecular biology at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom. After changing his career slightly, Alex is now a freelance writer, covering everything from animal behavior to plant genetics. She currently lives in the Scottish Highlands. When she is not working, she can enjoy the scenery or try to catch local wildlife.

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