Work

A Sustainable Direct Recycling Method for LMO / NMC Cathode Mixture from Retired Lithium‐Ion Batteries in EV

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Direct recycling methods offer a non‐destructive way to regenerate degraded cathode material. The materials to be recycled in the industry typically constitute a mixture of various cathode materials extracted from a wide variety of retired lithium‐ion batteries. Bridging the gap, a direct recycling method using a low‐temperature sintering process is reported. The degraded cathode mixture of LMO (LiMn2O4) and NMC (LiNiCoMnO2) extracted from retired LIBs was successfully regenerated by the proposed method with a low sintering temperature of 300°C for 4 h. Advanced characterization tools were utilized to validate the full recovery of the crystal structure in the degraded cathode mixture. After regeneration, LMO/NMC cathode mixture shows an initial capacity of 144.0 mAh g−1 and a capacity retention of 95.1% at 0.5 C for 250 cycles. The regenerated cathode mixture also shows a capacity of 83 mAh g−1 at 2 C, which is slightly higher compared to the pristine material. As a result of the direct recycling process, the electrochemical performance of degraded cathode mixture is recovered to the same level as the pristine material. Life‐cycle assessment results emphasized a 90.4% reduction in energy consumption and a 51% reduction in PM2.5 emissions for lithium‐ion battery packs using a direct recycled cathode mixture compared to the pristine material.

Source: Energy & environment materials

DOI: 10.1002/eem2.12863

Authors: Yu Wang, Kang Shen, Chris Yuan

Institution: Case Western Reserve University

Language: English

Topic: Extraction and Separation Processes

Subfield: Mechanical Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Responsible consumption and production, Affordable and clean energy, Climate action

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,000