Effective and environmentally friendly recycling process designed for LiCoO cathode powders of spent Li-ion batteries using mixture of mild organic acids.

An effective and environmentally friendly recycling process designed for LiCoO cathode powders of spent Li-ion batteries using mixture of mild organic acids, citric acid (CA), tartaric acid (TA) and ascorbic acid (AA), to recover the metals. Almost complete dissolution of Li and nearly 90% dissolution of Co occurred in at 80 °C for 6 h. The reducing agent, ascorbic acid (AA), converts the dissolved Co(III) to Co(II) thereby selective recovery of Co as Co(II)-oxalate is possible.

Use of mild organic acid reagents to recover the Co and Li from spent Li-ion batteries.

New organic acid mixtures have been investigated to recover the valuable metal ions from the cathode material of spent Li-ion batteries. The cathodic active material (LiCoO2) collected from spent Li-ion batteries (LIBs) is dissolved in mild organic acids, iminodiacetic acid (IDA) and maleic acid (MA), to recover the metals. Almost complete dissolution occurred in slightly excess (than the stoichiometric requirement) of IDA or MA at 80°C for 6h, based on the Co and Li released.