Comparative assessment of the environmental performance between supercritical fluid technology and the hydrometallurgy process for recycling lithium-ion batteries

• Grant number: 22/13602-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: June 01, 2023
• End date: February 28, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Electrical Engineering - Telecommunications
• Principal Investigator: José Augusto de Oliveira
• Grantee: Carla Rafaelli Martins
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus Experimental São João da Boa Vista. São João da Boa Vista , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 23/15222-0 - Investigation of membrane separation techniques to obtain valuable metals from lithium ion batteries, BE.EP.MS

Abstract

Lithium ion batteries (LIBs) have been the subject of much research due to their great notoriety in various technological and economic sectors. Widely used in electronics, stationary energy sources and telecommunications equipment, LIBs play an essential and strategic role in electromobility and in the process of migrating from the use of fossil energy sources to the use of renewable energies. The observed and projected increase in demand for LIBs and the scarcity of the metals that compose them, such as lithium (Li), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), aluminum (Al) calls the attention of several productive sectors. In addition, the high potential for environmental impacts that LIBs cause throughout their life cycles demands technologies for recycling this product. In this context, the recycling of LIBs is presented as the main end-of-life (EoL) strategy for preventing and reducing environmental impacts, as well as for the economic sustainability of production chains that use LIBs. Thus, through experiments and the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), this research aims to comparatively evaluate the environmental performance and Eco-efficiency between two recycling technologies: hydrometallurgy; and supercritical fluids. Additionally, the objective is to evaluate the environmental impacts avoided by the two technologies to close the life cycle of LIBs.