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Environmental and economic assessment of structural repair technologies for spent lithium-ion battery cathode materials

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Abstract

The existing recycling and regeneration technologies have problems, such as poor regeneration effect and low added value of products for lithium (Li)-ion battery cathode materials with a low state of health. In this work, a targeted Li replenishment repair technology is proposed to improve the discharge-specific capacity and cycling stability of the repaired LiCoO2 cathode materials. Compared with the spent cathode material with >50% Li deficiency, the Li/Co molar ratio of the regenerated LiCoO2 cathode is >0.9, which completely removes the Co3O4 impurity phase formed by the decomposition of LixCoO2 in the failed cathode material after repair. The repaired LiCoO2 cathode materials exhibit better cycling stability, lower electrochemical impedance, and faster Li+ diffusion than the commercial materials at both 1 and 10 C. Meanwhile, Li1.05CoO2 cathodes have higher Li replenishment efficiency and cycling stability. The energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of LiCoO2 cathodes produced by this repair method are significantly reduced compared to those using pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical recycling processes.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51972030 and 51772030), the S&T Major Project of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in China (No. 2020ZD0018), the Beijing Outstanding Young Scientists Program (No. BJJWZYJH01201910007023), and the Guangdong Key Laboratory of Battery Safety (No. 019B121203008).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Key Laboratory of Environmental Science and Engineering, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, China

    Jiao Lin, Jiawei Wu, Ersha Fan, Xiaodong Zhang, Renjie Chen, Feng Wu & Li Li

  2. Guangdong Key Laboratory of Battery Safety, Guangzhou Institute of Energy Testing, Guangzhou, 511447, China

    Jiao Lin, Ersha Fan, Xiaodong Zhang, Feng Wu & Li Li

  3. Collaborative Innovation Center of Electric Vehicles in Beijing, Beijing, 100081, China

    Renjie Chen, Feng Wu & Li Li

  4. Advanced Technology Research Institute, Beijing Institute of Technology, Jinan, 250300, China

    Ersha Fan, Renjie Chen, Feng Wu & Li Li

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  1. Jiao Lin
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  2. Jiawei Wu
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  4. Xiaodong Zhang
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  6. Feng Wu
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  7. Li Li
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Correspondence to Renjie Chen or Li Li.

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Lin, J., Wu, J., Fan, E. et al. Environmental and economic assessment of structural repair technologies for spent lithium-ion battery cathode materials. Int J Miner Metall Mater 29, 942–952 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-022-2430-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-022-2430-7

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