Electrochemical Lithium-Ion Recovery from Battery Recycling Process Water

Abstract

Electrochemical desalination is a promising technology for the selective recovery of Lithium-ions or other rare ions from spent electronics, contributing to a circular economy. Due to its high-energy efficiency and selective Lithium-ion recovery, this method offers a low environmental impact, making it a promising tool for recovering Lithium-ions from spent batteries. Few studies have examined electrochemical desalination as a tool to recover Lithium-ions from real spent battery solutions. In this work, solutions obtained from real shredding of Lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries inside a cooling water reservoir were used as a Lithium rich source to obtain a high-purity Lithium-ion recovery solution. A 96%-pure Lithium-ion recovery solution was obtained while only requiring an energy input of 1.10 kWh/kg.