Lithium Recovery and Conversion from Wastewater Produced by Recycling of Li-Ion Batteries via Two-Stage Electrodialysis

Hyder, A.H.M. Golam; Nuraeni, Bintang; Gallagher, Sabine M.; Wasilk, Mason; Macholz, Jessica D.; Lipson, Albert L.; Spangenberger, Jeffrey

doi:10.1021/acssuschemeng.4c07708

Lithium Recovery and Conversion from Wastewater Produced by Recycling of Li-Ion Batteries via Two-Stage Electrodialysis

Journal Article · Fri Mar 21 00:00:00 EDT 2025 · ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.4c07708· OSTI ID:2573939

Hyder, A.H.M. Golam ^[1]; Nuraeni, Bintang ^[1]; Gallagher, Sabine M. ^[1]; Wasilk, Mason ^[1]; ^[1]; ^[1]; Spangenberger, Jeffrey ^[1]

Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

Electrodialysis (ED) is a membrane separation technique that has been well-established in various applications such as desalination, drinking water production, wastewater treatment, and lithium salt production. A limited number of studies have explored its application in lithium salt production, especially from secondary resources like wastewater. This study investigated a route to recover lithium from wastewater generated from the recycling of end-of-life Li-ion batteries. Two electrodialysis methods, namely standard electrodialysis (ED) and bipolar-membrane electrodialysis (BPED), were combined to concentrate lithium ions and convert them to lithium hydroxide (LiOH), a valuable product that can be fed back into the supply chain for manufacturing Li-ion batteries. Lithium (Li⁺) concentration in recycling wastewater was successfully increased by 58% using ED and converted to LiOH (>96% purity) with a further increase in Li⁺ concentration by 67% using BPED. The Coulombic efficiency of the experiments was 91.0 and 92.2%, with specific energy consumption of 1 and 2.5 kWh/kg, and a production rate of 1.01 and 0.14 kg/h/m² for the ED and BPED processes, respectively. In addition, preliminary techno-economic and environmental impact analyses show a significant improvement (GHG emission reduction by 77% and total energy reduction by 53%) by producing LiOH via electrodialysis compared to conventional lithium production via brine extraction. The process was assessed to be beneficial for lithium extraction from secondary resources and to enhance overall battery recycling efforts.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Office of Sustainable Transportation. Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-06CH11357

OSTI ID:: 2573939

Journal Information:: ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, Journal Name: ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering Journal Issue: 12 Vol. 13; ISSN 2168-0485

Publisher:: American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Lithium Recovery and Conversion from Wastewater Produced by Recycling of Li-Ion Batteries via Two-Stage Electrodialysis

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