Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling and Lithium Extraction from Brines
This research community develops chemical and physical processes to recover lithium, cobalt, and nickel from spent lithium-ion batteries and to extract lithium from natural brines.
The work centers on hydrometallurgical techniques, specifically acid leaching and solvent extraction, to separate valuable metals from battery cathode materials. A significant portion of the literature focuses on the application of deep eutectic solvents, such as choline chloride mixtures, as alternative leaching agents to reduce environmental impact. The community also investigates direct lithium extraction from low-quality brines using ion-sieve membranes and capacitive deionization. Life cycle assessment is a recurring methodological component, used to evaluate the sustainability of these recovery pathways against primary mining. The specific materials addressed include lithium iron phosphate, nickel-cobalt cathodes, and nickel laterite ores.
The largest share of the community's output is found in lithium research, accounting for 8.7% of all tracked lithium literature, with 2,944 papers in this group. Cobalt and nickel research also feature prominently, representing 3.4% and 3.0% of their respective element research totals.
The community comprises 9,732 papers, publishing primarily in Separation and Purification Technology, Hydrometallurgy, and Chemical Engineering Journal. Recent work continues to focus on circular economy models for battery supply chains, the design of advanced ion-sieves for brine extraction, and the optimization of deep eutectic solvent processes for cathode recycling.
Papers behind this description
- Lithium extraction from low-quality brines — Nature, 2024 — doi:10.1038/s41586-024-08117-1
- Energy consumption of current and future production of lithium-ion and post lithium-ion battery cells — Nature Energy, 2023 — doi:10.1038/s41560-023-01355-z
- Lithium-ion batteries and the future of sustainable energy: A comprehensive review — Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2025 — doi:10.1016/j.rser.2025.115971
- Toward Direct Regeneration of Spent Lithium-Ion Batteries: A Next-Generation Recycling Method — Chemical Reviews, 2024 — doi:10.1021/acs.chemrev.3c00884
- Environmental impact of direct lithium extraction from brines — Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 2023 — doi:10.1038/s43017-022-00387-5
- The evolution of lithium-ion battery recycling — Nature Reviews Clean Technology, 2025 — doi:10.1038/s44359-024-00010-4
- Solar transpiration–powered lithium extraction and storage — Science, 2024 — doi:10.1126/science.adm7034
- Recycling of spent lithium-ion batteries for a sustainable future: recent advancements — Chemical Society Reviews, 2024 — doi:10.1039/d3cs00898c
- Life cycle comparison of industrial-scale lithium-ion battery recycling and mining supply chains — Nature Communications, 2025 — doi:10.1038/s41467-025-56063-x
- Lithium: A review of applications, occurrence, exploration, extraction, recycling, analysis, and environmental impact — Geoscience Frontiers, 2024 — doi:10.1016/j.gsf.2024.101868
- Pathway decisions for reuse and recycling of retired lithium-ion batteries considering economic and environmental functions — Nature Communications, 2024 — doi:10.1038/s41467-024-52030-0
- The recovery and separation of lithium by using solvent extraction methods — Coordination Chemistry Reviews, 2024 — doi:10.1016/j.ccr.2024.215727
- A circular economy approach for the global lithium-ion battery supply chain — Nature, 2025 — doi:10.1038/s41586-025-09617-4
- Lithium-ion battery recycling: a perspective on key challenges and opportunities — npj Materials Sustainability, 2025 — doi:10.1038/s44296-025-00083-7
- Tailoring Multiple Functional Domains of Lithium-Ion Sieves for Sustainable Lithium Extraction from Low-Quality Brines — ACS Nano, 2025 — doi:10.1021/acsnano.5c11936
- Lithium resources and novel strategies for their extraction and purification — npj Materials Sustainability, 2025 — doi:10.1038/s44296-025-00069-5
- Hydrometallurgical process of spent lithium-ion battery recycling Part. 2 Recovery of valuable metals from the cathode active material leachates: Review and cost analysis — Hydrometallurgy, 2025 — doi:10.1016/j.hydromet.2025.106516
- Adsorption-responsive bionic photothermal ion pump for reversible seawater lithium extraction — Nature Communications, 2025 — doi:10.1038/s41467-025-63890-5