Recovery Concept of Value Metals from Automotive Lithium-Ion Batteries

A recycling process for automotive lithium-ion batteries was developed. The process combines a mechanical pretreatment with pyrometallurgical recycling process step to recover all battery components, and realize cost-neutral and sustainable recycling. The focus of the research work is the development of a pyrometallurgical process step to recover especially Li out of electrode mass powder which is the fine fraction extracted mechanically from spent Li-ion batteries. Two metallurgical treatment technologies were investigated: direct vacuum evaporation of Li and recovery of metallic Li by distillation, and a selective entraining gas evaporation of Li and recovery of lithium oxide.