TY - JOUR

T1 - Optimization of a Pyrometallurgical Process to Efficiently Recover Valuable Metals from Commercially Used Lithium-Ion Battery Cathode Materials LCO, NCA, NMC622, and LFP

AU - Holzer, Alexandra

AU - Wiszniewski, Lukas

AU - Windisch-Kern, Stefan

AU - Raupenstrauch, Harald

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022 by the authors.

PY - 2022/9/29

Y1 - 2022/9/29

N2 - With an ever-growing demand for critical raw materials for the production of lithium-ion batteries and a price increase of respective commodities, an ever louder call from the industry for efficient recycling technologies can be noticed. So far, state-of-the-art industry-scaled pyrometallurgical recycling technologies all suffer from the same bottleneck of lithium slagging. At the Chair of Thermal Processing Technology at Montanuniversitaet Leoben, a novel reactor was developed to recover lithium and phosphorus via the gas phase in a pyrometallurgical process. Critical elements such as Li, Ni, Co, and Mn of the commercially used cathode materials LCO (LiCoO2), LFP (LiFePO4), NCA (LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2), and NMC622 (LiNi0.6Mn0.2Co0.2) were analyzed in a batch version of the so-called InduRed reactor concept. The analyses underline that the reactor concept is highly suitable for an efficient recovery for the metals Ni and Co and that slagging of Li can not only be largely prohibited, but the elements lithium and phosphorous can even be recovered from the gas phase. Plant engineering issues were also considered for further development toward a continuous process. The MgO crucible used shows significant diffusion of various elements from the battery material, which is why the choice of crucible material still requires in-depth research.

AB - With an ever-growing demand for critical raw materials for the production of lithium-ion batteries and a price increase of respective commodities, an ever louder call from the industry for efficient recycling technologies can be noticed. So far, state-of-the-art industry-scaled pyrometallurgical recycling technologies all suffer from the same bottleneck of lithium slagging. At the Chair of Thermal Processing Technology at Montanuniversitaet Leoben, a novel reactor was developed to recover lithium and phosphorus via the gas phase in a pyrometallurgical process. Critical elements such as Li, Ni, Co, and Mn of the commercially used cathode materials LCO (LiCoO2), LFP (LiFePO4), NCA (LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2), and NMC622 (LiNi0.6Mn0.2Co0.2) were analyzed in a batch version of the so-called InduRed reactor concept. The analyses underline that the reactor concept is highly suitable for an efficient recovery for the metals Ni and Co and that slagging of Li can not only be largely prohibited, but the elements lithium and phosphorous can even be recovered from the gas phase. Plant engineering issues were also considered for further development toward a continuous process. The MgO crucible used shows significant diffusion of various elements from the battery material, which is why the choice of crucible material still requires in-depth research.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85140882284&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3390/met12101642

DO - 10.3390/met12101642

M3 - Article

VL - 12.2022

JO - Metals

JF - Metals

SN - 2075-4701

IS - 10

M1 - 1642

ER -