A novel electrochemical redox method for the simultaneous recovery of spent lithium-ion battery cathodes and anodes

Abstract

With the rapid development of the electric vehicle industry, an enormous amount of spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has been generated. However, the traditional electrochemical recycling method suffers from high cell potentials (E_cell) and environmental burdens. In addition, anode material recycling has not always attracted much attention. Herein, the strategy of oxidizing an anode current collector and the concept of a “sandwich-type” electrode structure is proposed, which enables the recycling of both spent cathode and anode materials simultaneously in a low energy consumption manner. Electrochemical leaching experiments demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms traditional ways with lower E_cell values (<1 V), higher leaching ratios (>98% Li⁺ and Co²⁺), and a shorter pretreatment process. Meanwhile, the Al foil and graphite are separated from the electrode residues from spent LIB cathodes and anodes, respectively. The recovered graphite can be reutilized for the re-manufacture of anode materials. The life cycle assessment uncovers that the proposed electrochemical process shows a significant reduction of the environmental and human health impacts compared with traditional processes.