Lithium Recovery from EV Battery

Recycling lithium from lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, which are a type of lithium-ion battery. The recycling process involves extracting lithium from black mass material derived from LFP batteries. The method includes adjusting pH and iron concentration of the black mass slurry, separating out ferrous phosphate, processing the resulting solutions to concentrate lithium sulfate, and precipitating lithium compounds for recovery.

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An efficient green method for extracting lithium from spent lithium-ion batteries to solve the resource scarcity challenge. The method uses the lithium plating phenomenon that occurs during fast charging of end-of-life batteries to concentrate lithium at the anode/separator interface. This concentrated lithium is then recovered using water as the extraction solvent. The recovery process involves electrochemically charging the spent battery at high rates to induce lithium plating, which deposits metallic lithium at the anode. Extracting the concentrated lithium from the plated film and SEI layer using water only, no acids or bases, achieves over 90% lithium recovery compared to conventional recycling methods.

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Closed-loop recycling process for lithium from lithium-ion battery cathode materials that selectively extracts lithium from a recycling stream containing lithium and transition metals. The process involves leaching the lithium with an organic acid that dissolves lithium but not the transition metals. The leach solution is then distilled to separate the dissolved lithium. The distilled lithium solution is sintered to form lithium carbonate powder that can be washed and filtered to obtain highly pure lithium carbonate. This closed-loop process provides efficient and selective recovery of lithium from battery recycling waste.

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Recovering lithium from waste lithium-ion batteries using an aqueous process. The process involves immersing the battery active material in water and bubbling carbon dioxide. This leaches lithium from the material as soluble lithium compounds into the water. The pH is controlled to suppress aluminum leaching. The solution is then crystallized to recover lithium carbonate.

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Lithium metal phosphate manufacturing system and method that synergize lithium metal phosphate production, lithium extraction, and lithium ion battery recycling. The system involves extracting lithium from battery black mass using acid leaching, precipitating lithium phosphate from the leach solution, and mixing it with metal phosphates to form lithium metal phosphate precursor. This is then milled, calcined, and roasted to produce lithium metal phosphate cathode material for batteries. The process reduces waste, cost, and energy compared to separate production routes.

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Integrated process for producing lithium metal phosphate cathode material for lithium-ion batteries using lithium extraction from recycled batteries and lithium phosphate synthesis. The process involves leaching lithium from recycled battery black mass to form a lithium solution. This lithium solution is then precipitated with phosphate to make lithium phosphate. The recycled metal phosphate and the lithium phosphate are mixed and processed to form the lithium metal phosphate cathode material. This integrates lithium extraction, phosphate synthesis, and lithium battery recycling into a single process to reduce cost and improve efficiency.

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Adaptive charging and discharging control for lithium secondary batteries with degraded electrodes. The method involves identifying the electrode with greater deterioration between positive and negative electrodes in a partially degraded battery state. It does this by measuring cell parameters like voltage, current, and temperature to determine state of charge. Then it applies a pulse current and analyzes the voltage response to calculate resistance ratios for ion diffusion and electrochemical reactions. Comparing these ratios to thresholds allows determining which electrode is more degraded. The control algorithm can then adjust charging/discharging parameters for the identified deteriorated electrode.

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Electrolyte solution for lithium batteries with additives that improve output characteristics, high-temperature storage, and reduce gas generation and thickness increase. The electrolyte contains a lithium salt, organic solvent, and two additives: a first additive with one double bond and a specific structure, and a second additive with 3-5 atoms, electronegativity 3+, double bonds, and a specific group. The additives enable lower discharge resistance, improved recovery capacity at high temps, and better lifespan retention.

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Recycling lithium-ion batteries in a simple and efficient way to recover valuable materials like cathode active material. The recycling method involves discharging the battery through two steps with decreasing resistance loads. First, discharge through a high resistance load increases lithium in the cathode. Second, discharge through a lower resistance load further increases lithium. Then, collect the cathode material. This prevents high voltage spikes and excessive current during switch. The collected cathode material can be used to make new batteries. This also enables recycling of batteries with deformed cases. The method is applicable to a vehicle seat design where the seat pad contains an internal space to house a flexible lithium-ion battery module. The battery touches the inner surface of the pad for comfort. This provides a simple and integrated way to recycle batteries in vehicles.

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Purifying and recycling lithium-ion battery waste streams to efficiently recover valuable metals beyond just cobalt and nickel. The process involves removing impurities like copper and fluorine from the waste liquid. The purified liquid is further processed to separately recover metals like nickel, manganese, and cobalt. The process also includes precipitating lithium from the waste liquid.

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Battery pack assembly for easily disassembling and recycling large format lithium-ion batteries. The assembly has two frames holding cells between them, connected by a conductor. The frames are reversibly fastened. The frames have elastomeric protrusions that push terminals against the conductor. Removing the fasteners lets cells be easily taken out. This allows easy disassembly for recycling or repair compared to welded or soldered packs. A monitoring system detects failed cells and breaks connections.

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Recovering valuable positive electrode active material from batteries by oxidizing and separating the active material from the surrounding components like binders. The method involves oxidizing the electrode mixture slurry with ozone or hydrogen peroxide to break down the coating films and binders, then separating and recovering the active material particles. This allows effective recycling of the active material without extensive carbon contamination.

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Recycling lithium-ion batteries by isolating and recovering reusable materials from composite electrodes without changes to their chemical structure. The method uses a solvent, triethyl phosphate (TEP), to delaminate the electrode material from the current collector. This allows efficient separation of the electrode components. The recovered, undamaged electrode material and current collector can be reused in new batteries.

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A method for reusing positive electrode scrap generated in the lithium secondary battery fabrication process or positive electrode active materials of lithium secondary batteries discarded after use. The method involves thermally treating the scrap to decompose the binder and separate the current collector from the active material. The active material is then washed and annealed to obtain a reusable active material powder.

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A lithium secondary battery with improved cycle life and capacity retention, particularly for batteries with high silicon content negative electrodes. The battery contains a pre-lithiation agent in the positive electrode active layer. The pre-lithiation agent compensates for lithium loss during cycling without generating iron precipitates that damage the electrolyte interface. Controlling the pre-lithiation agent particle size, electrolyte composition, and silicon content prevents issues like excessive gelling, electrolyte decomposition, and self-discharge.

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Composite membrane for lithium air batteries that has improved ion conductivity, gas barrier properties, and large size formability. The membrane has a non-continuous alignment of gas blocking inorganic particles in an ion-conductive polymer layer. This configuration allows lithium ions to pass through while blocking moisture and gas. The membrane can be formed with large radii of curvature, enabling high-area, large-size membranes. The membrane can be used in lithium air batteries to prevent oxygen and moisture from reaching the anode while allowing lithium ion conduction.

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Method for reusing positive electrode active materials from scrap to recover rare metals like cobalt and lithium. It involves immersing the scrap in a basic solution to separate the active material from the current collector. Then thermally treating in air to decompose the binder and collect the active material. Washing with a basic lithium solution removes impurities. Annealing with a lithium precursor recovers a reusable active material.

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Comprehensive recycling of lithium and iron phosphate from waste lithium iron phosphate batteries to extract lithium and produce high-purity iron phosphate for reuse in batteries. The process involves selectively extracting lithium using hydrochloric acid and sodium chlorate to form iron phosphate. The lithium-containing solution is further treated to recover lithium carbonate. The crude iron phosphate is washed three times to remove impurities. This provides a closed-loop recycling option for lithium and iron phosphate from batteries without generating large amounts of waste.

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Electrochemical process for alkaliating electrochemically active materials like metal oxides, phosphates, silicates, and sulfates to prepare alkali metal intercalated forms. The process involves electrolysis using a current to intercalate alkali ions into the materials in a working electrode. The electrolyte contains an alkali metal salt dissolved in a solvent. The intercalated material is extracted from the electrode after electrolysis. Alternatively, the electrolyte can be chemically reduced to form a reusable reducing agent, which is electrochemically regenerated after removing the intercalated material.

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A system for optimizing the remanufacturing of used lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles to create new batteries. The system involves three servers: a remanufacturing support server, a battery collection support server, and a battery database management server. The remanufacturing support server takes battery specification data from a vendor, sets an allowable degradation range, acquires diagnostic data on used batteries, and provides a remanufacturing plan based on matching batteries. The collection support server takes remanufacturing plans, extracts collectable batteries, and tells vehicle owners to collect them. The database server takes battery data, registers diagnostic results, and allows searching for matching batteries.

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