Recovery of cathode materials from waste lithium iron phosphate batteries through ultralow temperature treatment and mechanical separation

ABSTRACT

Waste lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries consist of various of metallic and nonmetallic materials, with lithium being a critical strategic resource in the new energy era. Therefore, recycling LFP batteries has become a primary means of secondary lithium resource recovery. However, the presence of the strong binder polyvnylidene fluoride during the recycling process hinders the efficient recovery and separation of cell materials. This study proposes an innovative approach for recovery, involving ultralow temperature treatment and mechanical separation. In the experimental setup, the ultralow temperature treatment temperature at −140°C for 120 min, followed by 20 s of crushing, resulted in an impressive 96.5% dissociation rate of the cathode material and a purity of 94.2% for lithium iron phosphate. The physical and chemical changes in the cathode materials before and after ultralow temperature treatment were examined using differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer, X-ray fluorescence spectrometer, and X-ray diffraction (XRD). This method has the advantages of low cost, high efficiency, high environmental affinity and no additional products.

KEYWORDS:

• Waste lithium iron phosphate battery
• binder
• ultralow temperature treatment
• mechanical separation
• particle size distribution

Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 52205509). All the authors wish to thank the referees and editor for the suggestion and instruction of this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [52205509].

Notes on contributors

Chunchen Zhang

Chunchen Zhang is a M.S. scholar at the School of Mechanical Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, Anhui Province, China.

Huabing Zhu

Huabing Zhu is a Professor in the School of Mechanical Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, Anhui Province, China. He has received his Ph.D. from the Hefei University of Technology. His research fields include robot system integration technology, numerical control machining technology and application, lithium-ion battery recycling and green design and manufacturing. He is associate Director, Steering Committee of Engineering Training Education, Ministry of Education, China.

Haijun Bi

Haijun Bi is a Lectorate in the State Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Biology and Utilization, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui Province, China. He has received his Ph.D. from the Hefei University of Technology.

Yuxuan Bai

Yuxuan Bai is a Ph.D. scholar at the School of Mechanical Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, Anhui Province, China. His research focuses on the recycling of lithium-ion batteries.

Lei Wang

Lei Wang is a M.S. scholar at the School of Mechanical Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, Anhui Province, China.