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Improved extraction of cobalt and lithium by reductive acid from spent lithium-ion batteries via mechanical activation process

  • Mechanochemical Synthesis
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Abstract

Cobalt (Co) and lithium (Li) were extracted from pure LiCoO2 powders and actual cathode material powders from the spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) after l-ascorbic acid dissolution via a mechanical activation process. The influences of activation time and rotation speed on the leaching were discussed. The mechanism of the improved leaching yield was proposed based on the characterization analysis including X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, BET-specific surface area and particle size analyzer. The reduced particle size, increased specific surface area of activated samples, destroyed crystal structure and amorphous state of LiCoO2 contributed to the improved leaching efficiencies of Co and Li. With the activated process, about 99% Co and 100% Li were extracted from actual spent LIBs after 60-min grinding at 500 rpm with mild conditions. This effective process would be of great importance for recovering valuable metals from the spent LIBs at room temperature.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully appreciate the financial support from Shanghai “Chenguang” Program (15CG60), Shanghai Sailing Program (18YF1429900, 15YF1404300), Natural Science Foundation of China (51678353), Shanghai Natural Science Foundation (No. 15ZR1416800), Cultivate discipline fund of Shanghai Polytechnic University (XXKPY1601) and Eastern Scholar Professorship Grant. The authors also acknowledge the Graduate Student Funding Program of Shanghai Polytechnic University (A01GY16F030), Shanghai Polytechnic University Leap Program (EGD18XQD24), and project supported by Shanghai Cooperative Centre for WEEE Recycling (ZF1224).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental and Materials Engineering, Shanghai Polytechnic University, Shanghai, 201209, People’s Republic of China

    Yaoguang Guo, Jie Guan, Guilan Gao, Hao Yuan, Jue Dai & Ruijng Su

  2. Shanghai Waigaoqiao Bonded Area Environmental Services Co., Ltd., Shanghai, 200131, People’s Republic of China

    Yaguang Li

  3. Key Laboratory of Control of Quality and Safety for Aquatic Products, Ministry of Agriculture, East China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Shanghai, 200090, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaoyi Lou

  4. Shanghai Pudong Shuguang Research Center for High Environmental Treatment Technologies, Shanghai, 201209, People’s Republic of China

    Jie Guan & Hao Yuan

  5. Shanghai Xin Jinqiao Environmental Protection Co., Ltd., Shanghai, 201201, People’s Republic of China

    Yingshun Li

  6. School of Urban Planning and Architecture, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu, 610041, People’s Republic of China

    Xianmin Mai

  7. National Engineering Research Center for Advanced Polymer Processing Technology, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450002, People’s Republic of China

    Hu Liu

  8. Integrated Composites Laboratory (ICL), Department of Chemical and Bimolecular Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA

    Hu Liu, Cindy Xinxin Zhao & Zhanhu Guo

  9. State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, People’s Republic of China

    Ning Wang

  10. School of Material Science and Engineering, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

    Chao Yan

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  1. Yaoguang Guo
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  2. Yaguang Li
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  4. Jie Guan
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Correspondence to Jie Guan or Zhanhu Guo.

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Guo, Y., Li, Y., Lou, X. et al. Improved extraction of cobalt and lithium by reductive acid from spent lithium-ion batteries via mechanical activation process. J Mater Sci 53, 13790–13800 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-018-2229-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-018-2229-0

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