Universal and Normalized Regeneration of Heterogeneous Spent <scp>L</scp> i <scp>F</scp> e <scp>PO</scp> <sub>4</sub> via Mechanochemical Delithiation and Flash Relithiation

The global surging demand for lithium iron phosphate batteries necessitates efficient recycling strategies to ensure environmental sustainability and resource conservation. While direct regeneration is considered sustainable, its widespread adoption is hindered by three critical challenges: 1) heterogeneous and unquantifiable lithium loss across waste streams, 2) abnormal particle growth during high‐temperature restoration, and 3) limited economic returns arising from the low‐value elements and complex process. Here, we report a universal and scalable “ x → 0 → 1” normalization strategy. All spent Li x FePO 4 is first reset to Li‐free olivine FePO 4 ( x → 0) via mechanochemical delithiation, eliminating batch‐specific variability. Benefiting from the olivine FePO 4 with pre‐existing Li + diffusion channels and nonequilibrium kinetics, subsequent ultrafast heating resynthesis (UHR) restores stoichiometric lithium iron phosphate (0 → 1) in just 35 s, effectively suppressing particle coarsening while cutting energy/time consumption by &gt;99% compared to furnace sintering. This approach accommodates diverse degradation levels and their mixture, yielding regenerated lithium iron phosphate with consistent capacity, superior rate capability (84.3 mAh g −1 at 10 C) and cycling stability (89.1% retention after 1000 cycles at 10 C), outperforming fresh commercial lithium iron phosphate (73.3 mAh g −1 , 66.6%). Beyond regeneration, flash upcycling to lithium manganese iron phosphate further enhances energy density to 549 Wh kg −1 . Techno‐economic analysis confirms strong profitability (lithium iron phosphate: 4.86 $ kg −1 cell, lithium manganese iron phosphate: 10.98 $ kg −1 cell), low energy demand (6.56 MJ kg −1 cell), and reduced emissions (2.95 kg CO 2 ‐eq kg −1 cell). Our strategy therefore establishes a general and robust platform for closed‐loop cathode recycling and upcycling.

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Journal
Energy & environment materials
Published
2026-01-09
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/eem2.70225
Primary Topic
Extraction and Separation Processes
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Universal and Normalized Regeneration of Heterogeneous Spent L i F e PO 4 via Mechanochemical Delithiation and Flash Relithiation

Yao Yao, Junyi Lian, Dinggen Li, Xin Hu et al.
Energy & environment materials
Extraction and Separation Processes
article

Universal and Normalized Regeneration of Heterogeneous Spent L i F e PO 4 via Mechanochemical Delithiation and Flash Relithiation

Yao Yao, Junyi Lian, Dinggen Li, Xin Hu, Sanqi Guo, Yaduo Song, Jia Xie, Cheng Lin, Minglei Cao, Zhiqiang Wang, Hao Zhang, Jinming Guo, Yunhui Huang, Jinyu Wen
article en

Abstract

The global surging demand for lithium iron phosphate batteries necessitates efficient recycling strategies to ensure environmental sustainability and resource conservation. While direct regeneration is considered sustainable, its widespread adoption is hindered by three critical challenges: 1) heterogeneous and unquantifiable lithium loss across waste streams, 2) abnormal particle growth during high‐temperature restoration, and 3) limited economic returns arising from the low‐value elements and complex process. Here, we report a universal and scalable “ x → 0 → 1” normalization strategy. All spent Li x FePO 4 is first reset to Li‐free olivine FePO 4 ( x → 0) via mechanochemical delithiation, eliminating batch‐specific variability. Benefiting from the olivine FePO 4 with pre‐existing Li + diffusion channels and nonequilibrium kinetics, subsequent ultrafast heating resynthesis (UHR) restores stoichiometric lithium iron phosphate (0 → 1) in just 35 s, effectively suppressing particle coarsening while cutting energy/time consumption by &gt;99% compared to furnace sintering. This approach accommodates diverse degradation levels and their mixture, yielding regenerated lithium iron phosphate with consistent capacity, superior rate capability (84.3 mAh g −1 at 10 C) and cycling stability (89.1% retention after 1000 cycles at 10 C), outperforming fresh commercial lithium iron phosphate (73.3 mAh g −1 , 66.6%). Beyond regeneration, flash upcycling to lithium manganese iron phosphate further enhances energy density to 549 Wh kg −1 . Techno‐economic analysis confirms strong profitability (lithium iron phosphate: 4.86 $ kg −1 cell, lithium manganese iron phosphate: 10.98 $ kg −1 cell), low energy demand (6.56 MJ kg −1 cell), and reduced emissions (2.95 kg CO 2 ‐eq kg −1 cell). Our strategy therefore establishes a general and robust platform for closed‐loop cathode recycling and upcycling.

Energy & environment materials
Hubei University of Automotive Technology (CN), Ministry of Education (MV), Huazhong University of Science and Technology (CN), Hubei University (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Responsible consumption and production
Openalex Percentile: Top 92%
Extraction and Separation Processes
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