Enhancement in leaching process of lithium and cobalt from spent lithium-ion batteries using benzenesulfonic acid system. (1st April 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Fu, Yuanpeng; He, Yaqun; Qu, Lili; Feng, Yi; Li, Jinlong; Liu, Jiangshan; Zhang, Guangwen; Xie, Weining
• Is Part Of: Waste management. Volume 88(2019)
• Page Start: 191
• Page End: 199
• Publication Date: 2019-04-01
• Subjects: Spent lithium-ion batteries -- Leaching process -- Benzenesulfonic acid -- Kinetics -- Reaction mechanism; Hazardous wastes -- Periodicals; Refuse and refuse disposal -- Periodicals; 363.728
• DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2019.03.044
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0956-053X

Abstract

Highlights: PVDF binder can be effectively removed using solvent formamide. Recovery of 99.58% Li and 96.53% Co can be reached using benzenesulfonic acid. A new kinetic model was introduced to describe the leaching kinetics of LiCoO2 . The proposed recovery mechanism was introduced for LiCoO2 leaching. Abstract: Recycling of valuable metals from spent lithium ion batteries (LIBs) is of great significance considering the conservation of metal resources and the alleviation of potential hazardous effects on environment. Thus, the present work focuses on enhancing the efficiency of leaching process for the recovery of cobalt and lithium from the cathode active materials of spent LIBs. In this study, benzenesulfonic acid (C6 H5 SO3 H) with a reducing agent hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ) was innovatively used as leaching reagents, and the operating variables were optimized to obtain higher leaching efficiencies. Results show the optimized leaching recovery of 99.58% Li and 96.53% Co was obtained under the conditions of 0.75 M benzenesulfonic acid, 3 vol% H2 O2, a solid to liquid (S/L) ratio of 15 g/L, 500 rpm stirring speed, and 80 min leaching time at 90 °C. Moreover, a new kinetic model was introduced to describe the leaching kinetics of LiCoO2 from the cathode material. The apparent activation energies Ea for leaching of lithium and cobalt are 41.06 and 35.21 kJ/mol, respectively, indicating that the surface chemical reaction is the rate-controlling step during this leaching process. Further, the proposed recovery mechanism for spent cathode material was raised by analyzing the experimental results and characterizing the morphological and chemical state (i.e. SEM-EDS, XPS and XRD) of raw material and leaching residues. In comparison with the previous leaching process, this research was found to be efficient, low energy consumption, and environmental friendly.