Recycling and Recovery of Metals from Spent Lithium-Ion Batteries
This community focuses on the chemical and mechanical processes required to extract valuable metals from retired lithium-ion batteries, aiming to close the material loop for electric vehicle power sources.
The work centers on processing "spent" battery components, specifically targeting the recovery of lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese from cathode materials and "black mass." Recurring methods include hydrometallurgical leaching, solvent extraction, and direct regeneration of degraded cathodes. A significant portion of the research evaluates these processes through life cycle assessment to compare environmental impacts against primary mining. Specific chemistries like lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) are frequently studied, along with emerging techniques using deep eutectic solvents for greener extraction.
The community is most heavily represented in research tracked for Lithium, comprising 2.6% of all Lithium-related papers, followed by Cobalt at 1.5% and Nickel at 0.8%. Lithium also accounts for the highest raw paper count within this group, with 6,312 papers.
There are 10,209 papers in this community, published most frequently in Separation and Purification Technology, Hydrometallurgy, and Waste Management.
Recent work continues to focus on optimizing leaching processes for black mass and repairing crystal structures in spent LiFePO4, alongside broader assessments of circular economy models for battery supply chains.