University of Leicester scientists have pioneered an innovative method to recycle lithium-ion batteries using cooking oil, offering a more sustainable and cost-effective solution to support the growing demand in green technologies.
Researchers at the University of Leicester have crafted a new method to sustainably recycle lithium-ion batteries using an unlikely ingredient: cooking oil. This innovative technique could pave the way for more eco-friendly and cost-effective recycling processes crucial to advancing green technologies.
The team, led by Andy Abbott, a professor of physical chemistry, and Jake Yang, a lecturer in physical chemistry at the University of Leicester, under the Faraday Institution’s ReLiB project, developed a patent-pending technology that employs a nanoemulsion of oil and water to extract valuable metals from the “black mass” of shredded batteries.
Remarkably, this purification process occurs at room temperature and is accomplished within mere minutes.
A Leap Towards Sustainability
“This quick, simple and inexpensive method could revolutionize how batteries are recycled at scale,” Yang said in a news release.
The eco-friendly approach is designed to address the urgent need for sustainable recycling methods amid the burgeoning use of electronics and electric vehicles (EVs).
Existing recycling methods often involve high-temperature furnace treatments or concentrated acids, increasing carbon emissions and degrading valuable materials.
In contrast, the Leicester-developed technique maintains the battery-grade crystalline structure, allowing for direct remanufacturing of batteries without extensive resource consumption.
The Science Behind the Breakthrough
In their study published in RSC Sustainability, the researchers explain that through ultrasound, they create stable nano-droplets of oil in water. These oil nano-droplets adhere specifically to graphite particles in the black mass, forming oil-graphite conglomerates that float and can be easily skimmed off. The valuable lithium, nickel and cobalt metal oxides remain in the water, ready for recovery.
Caption: To recycle batteries they are firstly shredded to produce a mixed black mass. The new process uses an oil nanoemulsion to float the graphite from the mixture.
Credit: University of Leicester
Martin Freer, CEO of the Faraday Institution, highlighted the significance of this work.
“The ReLiB project is one of the Faraday Institution’s flagship projects developing innovative technology to capture value and retain scarce resources in the circular economy of battery manufacture and recycling,” he said in the news release.
Implications and Future Directions
With over 40 million EVs and around 10 billion mobile devices worldwide, efficient recycling of lithium-ion batteries is critical. The lack of recycling regulations has left a significant gap that innovations like this aim to fill.
The Universities of Leicester and Birmingham are now collaborating on an InnovateUK-funded project, ReBlend, to scale this technology. The pilot line will process tens of kilograms of black mass per hour, demonstrating the method’s commercial viability.
Yang emphasized the potential impact, adding, “We now hope to work with a variety of stakeholders to scale up this technology and create a circular economy for lithium-ion batteries.”
This development signals a promising leap forward in the recycling of lithium-ion batteries, potentially making the global shift to greener technologies more sustainable and cost-efficient.