SUSTAINABLE LITHIUM RECOVERY FROM LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF PYRO AND HYDROMETALLURGICAL TECHNIQUES

Different sort of Batteries are used in many diversified applications such as cars, radios, laptops, mobile phones, and watches. They are classified as primary and secondary batteries. The former one is known as alkaline batteries made up of zinc and manganese as primary source and mainly used for household purposes, which convert directly chemical energy into electrical energy. The later one is usually made up of nickel (Ni), cadmium, nickel metal hydride or lithium-ion and it is mainly used in mobile phones, electronic items, cameras etc. The main concern of using batteries is the threat to the environment at the end of their usages. Among all type of batteries, Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are gaining world-wide interest owing to their use in almost all modern life devices. In addition, it is of paramount importance to develop new technologies to minimize any environment impact caused while disposing of such heavy metal bearing residues, since, on the one hand, the metals they contain can affect the environment and, on the other hand, such metals are valuable at an industrial level. In this work, the recoveries of lithium and manganese from the cathodes of exhausted lithium-ion batteries will be investigated using a pyrometallurgical chlorination process, followed by a hydrometallurgical process for the proper solubilisation of the lithium, manganese and cobalt chlorides formed. The tests were carried out in isothermal conditions, in alumina reactor so that it will be possible to operate in corrosive atmospheres. The effect of temperature and reaction time on lithium, manganese and cobalt extractions were also considered. The reagents, products and solid residues of chlorination were characterized by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The experimental results were be analysed to assess the efficiency of lithium, manganese and cobalt extractions as LiCl, MnCl2 and CoCl2, respectively. Once these metals were solubilized, lithium was precipitated in the form of carbonate, which is the raw material for the subsequent production of the batteries.