The influence of chlorination additives on metal separation during the pyrometallurgical recovery of spent lithium-ion batteries.

The difficulty of separating Li during pyrometallurgical smelting of spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has limited the development of pyrometallurgical processes. Chlorination enables the conversion of Li from spent LIBs to the gas phase during the smelting process. In this paper, the effects of four solid chlorinating agents (KCl, NaCl, CaCl and MgCl) on Li volatilization and metal (Co, Cu, Ni and Fe) recovery were investigated.

Mechanism for metal loss in smelting of recycled spent lithium-ion batteries: The overlooked role of refractory materials.

The pyrometallurgical process used to recover spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) involves high smelting temperatures. During the smelting process, the refractories dissolve into the slag. This can have negative effects on metal recovery.

Applicability of the reduction smelting recycling process to different types of spent lithium-ion batteries cathode materials.

The high-temperature smelting process based on pyrometallurgy is influential in the field of recycling spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) on an industrial scale. However, there are a variety of cathode materials for spent LIBs. The applicability of the high-temperature smelting process to different kinds of cathode materials has not been reported.

Efficient separation and recovery of lithium through volatilization in the recycling process of spent lithium-ion batteries.

Spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) comprise different kinds of valuable metals with recovery and reuse value. Aiming to address the difficulty of recycling lithium from spent LIBs through conventional pyrometallurgy, a new method of high-efficiency separation and recovery of lithium through volatilization is proposed. In this new method, spent LIBs as the raw material, copper slag as the only flux and CaCl as an additive are utilized to recover lithium from spent LIBs.