Electrochemical leaching of critical materials from lithium-ion batteries: A comparative life cycle assessment

Adhikari, Birendra; Chowdhury, Nighat A.; Diaz, Luis A.; Jin, Hongyue; Saha, Apurba K.; Shi, Meng; Klaehn, John R.; Lister, Tedd E.

doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2023.106973

Electrochemical leaching of critical materials from lithium-ion batteries: A comparative life cycle assessment

Journal Article · Tue Mar 21 00:00:00 EDT 2023 · Resources, Conservation and Recycling

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2023.106973· OSTI ID:1999227

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Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States). Critical Materials Institute (CMI)
Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States)

The manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries (LIB) requires critical materials such as cobalt (Co) and lithium (Li) that are essential for clean-energy products including electric vehicles. Because of their rapidly increasing demand and limited supply, the recycle and reuse of these materials from end-of-life LIB have garnered a lot of interest. Electrochemical leaching has emerged as a sustainable method to extract critical materials out of LIBs, so life cycle assessment was conducted to compare the environmental impacts with traditional peroxide-based leaching and another emerging technology – SO₂-based leaching. The results showed that electrochemical leaching reduces the global warming potential (GWP) by 80%-87% compared to peroxide-based leaching due to a lower acid consumption, avoidance of hydrogen peroxide, and regeneration of reducing agent iron (II) sulfate and compares well with SO₂-based leaching in most impact categories. Furthermore, the analysis suggested renewable energy can further reduce the environment footprint of electrochemical leaching.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Energy Efficiency Office. Advanced Materials & Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC07-05ID14517; EE0007888; AC02–07CH11358

OSTI ID:: 1999227

Report Number(s):: INL/JOU-22-69529-Rev000; TRN: US2405440

Journal Information:: Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Vol. 193, Issue -; ISSN 0921-3449

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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