A team of researchers is addressing the growing environmental dilemma of recycling lithium-ion batteries efficiently as their usage continues to rise.
A group at Rice University, led by James Tour, the T.T. and W.F. Chao Professor of Chemistry and a professor in materials science and nanoengineering, is focusing on the essential challenge of effectively recycling lithium-ion batteries due to their increased adoption.
This team has developed an advanced method to extract purified active materials from battery waste, as reported in the journal Nature Communications on July 24. Their discoveries could streamline the separation and recycling of precious battery components at a low cost, promoting a more sustainable approach to electric vehicle (EV) production.
“Given the rise in battery use, especially in EVs, it’s crucial to establish sustainable recycling methods,” Tour remarked.
Traditional recycling methods usually involve breaking down battery components into their initial elemental forms through energy-heavy thermal or chemical processes, which can be expensive and have considerable environmental repercussions.
The research team suggested that magnetic characteristics could aid in the separation and purification of disposed battery materials.
They implemented an innovative technique known as solvent-free flash Joule heating (FJH). Developed by Tour, this method sends a current through a material with moderate resistance, heating it quickly and transforming it into different substances.
By employing FJH, the researchers heated battery waste to an impressive 2,500 Kelvin in mere seconds, producing distinct magnetic shells and robust core structures. The resulting magnetic separation enabled effective purification.
During their process, the cobalt-based battery cathodes, commonly found in EVs and linked to high economic, environmental, and social costs, surprisingly exhibited magnetism in their outer spinel cobalt oxide layers, simplifying their separation.
The researchers achieved an impressive recovery rate of 98% for battery metals while maintaining the structural integrity of the materials.
Co-lead authors of the study include Rice graduate students Weiyin Chen and Jinhang Chen, alongside Yi Cheng, a postdoctoral researcher and Rice Academy Junior Fellow.
Other contributors include Ksenia Bets, a research administrator in materials science and nanoengineering; Rodrigo Salvatierra, a former postdoctoral researcher now visiting the Tour lab; postdoctoral researcher Bing Deng; applied physics graduate students Chang Ge, Duy Luong, and Emily McHugh; Rice graduates John Li and Zicheng Wang; chemistry research scientist Carter Kittrell; materials science and nanoengineering research scientist Guanhui Gao; assistant professor Yimo Han; and Boris Yakobson, the Karl F. Hasselmann Professor of Engineering and a professor of materials science and nanoengineering.
This research was supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ERDC, and the Rice Academy Fellowship.
