TY - JOUR

T1 - Recovery of Cobalt, Nickel, and Lithium from Spent Lithium-Ion Batteries with Gluconic Acid Leaching Process: Kinetics Study

AU - Gerold, Eva

AU - Lerchbammer, Reinhard

AU - Antrekowitsch, Helmut

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 by the authors.

PY - 2024/4/2

Y1 - 2024/4/2

N2 - The demand for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is driven by environmental concerns and market growth, particularly in the transportation sector. The EU’s push for net-zero emissions and the European Green Deal accentuates the role of battery technologies in sustainable energy supply. Organic acids, like gluconic acid, are explored for the eco-friendly leaching of valuable metals from spent batteries. This study investigates leaching kinetics using gluconic acid (hydrolyzed glucono-1.5-lacton), analyzing factors such as temperature, acid concentration, particle size, and reaction time. Results reveal the temperature’s influence on leaching efficiency for cobalt, nickel, and lithium. The mechanism for Co follows a surface chemical reaction model with an activation energy of 28.2 kJ·mol −1. Nickel, on the contrary, shows a diffusion-controlled regime and an activation energy of 70.1 kJ·mol −1. The reaction of leaching Ni and Co using gluconic acid was determined to be first-order. The process within this environmentally friendly alternative leaching agent shows great potential for sustainable metal recovery.

AB - The demand for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is driven by environmental concerns and market growth, particularly in the transportation sector. The EU’s push for net-zero emissions and the European Green Deal accentuates the role of battery technologies in sustainable energy supply. Organic acids, like gluconic acid, are explored for the eco-friendly leaching of valuable metals from spent batteries. This study investigates leaching kinetics using gluconic acid (hydrolyzed glucono-1.5-lacton), analyzing factors such as temperature, acid concentration, particle size, and reaction time. Results reveal the temperature’s influence on leaching efficiency for cobalt, nickel, and lithium. The mechanism for Co follows a surface chemical reaction model with an activation energy of 28.2 kJ·mol −1. Nickel, on the contrary, shows a diffusion-controlled regime and an activation energy of 70.1 kJ·mol −1. The reaction of leaching Ni and Co using gluconic acid was determined to be first-order. The process within this environmentally friendly alternative leaching agent shows great potential for sustainable metal recovery.

KW - gluconic acid

KW - kinetics study

KW - lithium-ion batteries

KW - recycling

KW - sustainability

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85191291565&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3390/batteries10040120

DO - 10.3390/batteries10040120

M3 - Article

VL - 10.2024

JO - Batteries

JF - Batteries

SN - 2313-0105

IS - 4

M1 - 120

ER -