METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR RECYCLING LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES

摘要

Cathode material from exhausted lithium ion batteries are dissolved in a solution for extracting the useful elements Co (cobalt), Ni (nickel), Al (Aluminum) and Mn (manganese) to produce active cathode materials for new batteries. The solution includes compounds of desirable materials such as cobalt, nickel, aluminum and manganese dissolved as compounds from the exhausted cathode material of spent cells. Depending on a desired proportion, or ratio, of the desired materials, raw materials are added to the solution to achieve the desired ratio of the commingled compounds for the recycled cathode material for new cells. The desired materials precipitate out of solution without extensive heating or separation of the desired materials into individual compounds or elements. The resulting active cathode material has the predetermined ratio for use in new cells, and avoids high heat typically required to separate the useful elements because the desired materials remain commingled in solution.

主权项

1. A method for recycling lithium-ion batteries, comprising:
identifying a molar ratio for cathode materials for a new battery; forming a leach solution by combining crushed battery material from a lithium battery recycling stream with an acidic leach agent and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to separate cathode materials from undissolved materials; filtering the undissolved materials from the formed leach solution to leave dissolved salts of cathode materials remaining in the leach solution; determining a composition of the leach solution by identifying a molar ratio of the cathode material salts dissolved therein; adding, based on the determined composition, Ni, Co, Mn or Al salts in a sulfate (xSO4) or hydroxide (xOH) form to adjust the molar ratio of the dissolved cathode material salts in the leach solution to correspond to the identified molar ratio for the recycled battery, including adding a solution of aluminum sulfates and a chelating agent; and raising the pH of the leach solution to at least 10 for precipitating and filtering metal ions of the cathode materials to form a charge material precursor by coprecipitating the Ni, Co, Mn and Al salts remaining in the leach solution as a combined hydroxide (OH)2 or carbonate (CO3) having a molar ratio corresponding to the identified molar ratio for the recycled battery, the charge precursor material responsive to sintering for forming active cathode materials in an oxide form following sintering with lithium carbonate (Li2CO3).