SCI和EI收录∣中国化工学会会刊

Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering ›› 2022, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (1): 246-251.DOI: 10.1016/j.cjche.2021.09.020

• Separation Science and Engineering • Previous Articles     Next Articles

A novel strategy of lithium recycling from spent lithium-ion batteries using imidazolium ionic liquid

Hongshuai Zheng1, Jiaqi Huang1,2, Tao Dong1, Yifan Sha1, Haitao Zhang1,2, Jie Gao3, Suojiang Zhang1   

  1. 1 CAS Key Laboratory of Green Process and Engineering, Beijing Key Laboratory of Ionic Liquids Clean Process, State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Complex Systems, Innovation Academy for Green Manufacture, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China;
    2 Henan Institute of Advanced Technology, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450002, China;
    3 Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology & Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, China
  • Received:2021-06-25 Revised:2021-09-18 Online:2022-02-25 Published:2022-01-28
  • Contact: Tao Dong,E-mail address:tdong@ipe.ac.cn;Suojiang Zhang,E-mail address:sjzhang@ipe.ac.cn
  • Supported by:
    This work was financially supported by the Science Fund for Major Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China (21890762) and Innovation Academy for Green Manufacture, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IAGM-2020-C28).

A novel strategy of lithium recycling from spent lithium-ion batteries using imidazolium ionic liquid

Hongshuai Zheng1, Jiaqi Huang1,2, Tao Dong1, Yifan Sha1, Haitao Zhang1,2, Jie Gao3, Suojiang Zhang1   

  1. 1 CAS Key Laboratory of Green Process and Engineering, Beijing Key Laboratory of Ionic Liquids Clean Process, State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Complex Systems, Innovation Academy for Green Manufacture, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China;
    2 Henan Institute of Advanced Technology, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450002, China;
    3 Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology & Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, China
  • 通讯作者: Tao Dong,E-mail address:tdong@ipe.ac.cn;Suojiang Zhang,E-mail address:sjzhang@ipe.ac.cn
  • 基金资助:
    This work was financially supported by the Science Fund for Major Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China (21890762) and Innovation Academy for Green Manufacture, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IAGM-2020-C28).

Abstract: In light of the increasing demand for environmental protection and energy conservation, the recovery of highly valuable metals, such as Li, Co, and Ni, from spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has attracted wide-spread attention. Most conventional recycling strategies, however, suffer from a lack of lithium recycling, although they display high efficiency in the recovery of Co and Ni. In this work, we report an efficient extraction process of lithium from the spent LIBs by using a functional imidazolium ionic liquid. The extraction efficiency can be reached to 92.5% after a three-stage extraction, while the extraction efficiency of Ni-Co-Mn is less than 4.0%. The new process shows a high selectivity of lithium ion. FTIR spectroscopy and ultraviolet are utilized to characterize the variations in the functional groups during extraction to reveal that the possible extraction mechanism is cation exchange. The results of this work provide an effective and sustainable strategy of lithium recycling from spent LIBs.

Key words: Ionic liquid, Lithium, Selective extraction, Spent lithium batteries, Recovery

摘要: In light of the increasing demand for environmental protection and energy conservation, the recovery of highly valuable metals, such as Li, Co, and Ni, from spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has attracted wide-spread attention. Most conventional recycling strategies, however, suffer from a lack of lithium recycling, although they display high efficiency in the recovery of Co and Ni. In this work, we report an efficient extraction process of lithium from the spent LIBs by using a functional imidazolium ionic liquid. The extraction efficiency can be reached to 92.5% after a three-stage extraction, while the extraction efficiency of Ni-Co-Mn is less than 4.0%. The new process shows a high selectivity of lithium ion. FTIR spectroscopy and ultraviolet are utilized to characterize the variations in the functional groups during extraction to reveal that the possible extraction mechanism is cation exchange. The results of this work provide an effective and sustainable strategy of lithium recycling from spent LIBs.

关键词: Ionic liquid, Lithium, Selective extraction, Spent lithium batteries, Recovery