Recovery of lithium, cobalt and other metals from lithium-ion batteries

Wastes with high metal content are an important secondary source. Utilization of these wastes is important offering environmental and economic advantages as well as the conservation of natural resources. Due to the widespread use of portable electrical and electronic devices (mobile phones, laptops, video cameras, etc.) and electric cars, the consumption of lithium and cobalt, which are used as main component in lithium-ion batteries/batteries (LIB), has increased. Because LIBs contain lithium (1.5-7%), cobalt (5-20%), manganese (15-20%), copper (8-10%), aluminium (5-8%), and nickel (5-10%), they are considered as an important secondary source. Industrially, mechanical pretreatment, pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical methods as alone or in combination are used in the recovery of metals from waste LIBs. After mechanical pretreatment and physical separation processes, hydrometallurgical methods including solution purification, precipitation and solvent extraction methods are used after leaching with inorganic such as H2SO4, HCI and HNO3 or organic acids. In this study, processes for recovery of metals from LIBs are discussed with critical review of studies carried out on this. In addition, flowsheets of industrial applications for lithium/cobalt recovery in the world are presented.

Lityum-iyon pillerden lityum, kobalt ve diðer metallerin kazanýmý

Yüksek metal içeriklerine sahip olan atýklar önemli bir ikincil kaynak konumundadýrlar. Bu atýklarýn deðerlendirilmesi, çevresel ve ekonomik avantajlarýnýn yaný sýra doðal kaynaklarýn korunmasý açýsýndan da önemlidir. Taþýnabilir elektrikli ve elektronik cihazlarýn (cep telefonlarý, dizüstü bilgisayarlar, video kameralar vb.) ve elektrikli otomobillerin yaygýnlaþmasýna baðlý olarak bunlarýn temel bileþeni olan lityum-iyon pillerde/bataryalarda (LIB) kullanýlan lityum ve kobalt tüketimleri de artmýþtýr. LIB’ler, lityum (%1,5-7), kobalt (%5-20), manganez (%15-20), bakýr (%8-10), alüminyum (%5-8) ve nikel (%5-10) gibi metalleri içermesinden dolayý önemli bir ikincil kaynak olarak deðerlendirilmektedirler. Atýk LIB’lerden metallerin geri kazanýmýnda endüstriyel olarak mekanik ön-iþlem, pirometalurjik, hidrometalurjik veya bunlarýn birleþimden oluþan yöntemler kullanýlmaktadýr. Mekanik ön-iþlem ve fiziksel ayýrma iþlemlerinden sonra H2SO4, HCI ve HNO3 gibi inorganik ya da organik asitlerle liç sonrasý çözelti saflaþtýrma, çöktürme ve solvent ekstraksiyon yöntemlerini içeren hidrometalurjik yöntemler kullanýlmaktadýr. Bu çalýþmada, LIB’lerden metallerin geri kazaným prosesleri ve yapýlmýþ farklý çalýþmalar tartýþýlmýþtýr. Ayrýca, Dünya’da lityum/kobalt kazanýmýnýn gerçekleþtirildiði endüstriyel uygulamalardan akým þemalarý sunulmuþtur.