Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling, Metal Recovery, and Life Cycle Assessment
This community focuses on the technical and environmental evaluation of recovering valuable metals from spent lithium-ion batteries and extracting lithium from raw sources, specifically to support the circular economy of electric vehicle powertrains.
The work centers on hydrometallurgical processes, including acid leaching, solvent extraction, and deep eutectic solvents, to separate lithium, nickel, cobalt, and copper from battery waste. A significant portion of the research applies life cycle assessment methods to compare the environmental impacts of recycling against primary mining. Specific attention is paid to recovering metals from printed circuit boards and lithium iron phosphate cathodes. The recurring methods include selective extraction, separation techniques, and process optimization for recovering valuable metals from spent lithium-ion batteries and low-quality brines.
Lithium research accounts for the largest share of this community’s output, representing 4.4% of all tracked lithium research, with 10,675 papers. Cobalt research follows with a 2.4% share, and nickel with 1.9%.
The community comprises 30,014 papers, published predominantly in Hydrometallurgy, Separation and Purification Technology, and the Journal of Cleaner Production.
Recent work continues to focus on direct lithium extraction from brines, the circular economy of battery supply chains, and the regeneration of spent lithium iron phosphate materials.