A new recycling method from researchers in China offers the most eco-friendly solution yet to the waste from lithium-ion batteries, the Independent reported.
Lithium-ion batteries are currently the most widely used rechargeable battery technology. They are efficient and long-lasting, but one major drawback has been the materials. They are made with lithium, nickel, cobalt, and manganese, rare metals that have to be mined from the Earth, causing environmental damage and pollution. Then, at the end of batteries' lives, they're difficult to recycle, and some or all of that metal is lost — at least, until now.
A new study revealed a method to recover nearly 100% of the rare metals from lithium-ion batteries, the Independent reported. Researchers from Central South University in Changsha, Guizhou Normal University, and the National Engineering Research Center of Advanced Energy Storage Materials published their method, which is a vast improvement on earlier recycling processes.
The process starts with using tiny batteries to break down the metals in the battery being recycled. After that, extracting them relies on glycine, an amino acid that is much milder and safer for the environment than chemicals used in previous processes. It takes only 15 minutes, and recovers 99.99% of the lithium, 96.8% of the nickel, 92.35% of the cobalt, and 90.59% of the manganese from the old battery.
This is a big deal for many rechargeable technologies, particularly electric vehicles, which rely on batteries to power them. Until now, the pollution from mining rare metals for batteries was one of the biggest ways that EVs impacted the environment.
Using recycled materials for the batteries, and recycling them again at the end of their life, would reduce the cost and the environmental impact of EVs, making them more eco-friendly than ever while making it easier to buy one. The more people switch to EVs, the less heat-trapping air pollution will be released from gas-burning vehicles, and the better it will be for the climate.
The researchers hope this method will create new opportunities in clean energy technology. "This green and efficient strategy in neutral solution environment opens a new pathway to realise the large-scale pollution-free recycling of spent batteries," they wrote in the study.
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