3190 XXXI International Mineral Processing Congress 2024 Proceedings/Washington, DC/Sep 29–Oct 3
PVDF binder and cathode materials. Consequently, the
grade of NMC in the concentrate product was increased
from 95.7% to 98.4%. However, the yield of cathode
materials in the concentrate product was 50–60%. The
loss of cathode active materials in the overflow product was
attributed to the reduced density of PVDF-bonded cath-
ode composite materials. The thermal pyrolysis process was
introduced to remove PVDF in the black mass. At 400°C,
the majority of PVDF binder was decomposed after 1 hour
of pyrolysis treatment. The grade of NMC in the final con-
centrate product reached over 99% with 93% recovery. The
loss of cathode active materials to the overflow product was
predominantly attributed to the size of NMC particles.
This method can be integrated with complementary sepa-
ration methods to achieve the direct recycling of battery
materials from Li-ion batteries.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to acknowledge the financial
support from the Department of Energy (DOE) Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) under contract
number DE-EE0010398.
REFERENCES
Armand, M., &Tarascon, J.M. (2008). Building bet-
ter batteries. Nature, 451(7179), 652–657. doi:
10.1038/451652a.
Bai, Y., Muralidharan, N., Li, J., Essehli, R., &Belharouak, I.
(2020). Sustainable direct recycling of lithium-ion batter-
ies via solvent recovery of electrode materials.
Barik, S.P., Prabaharan, G., &Kumar, B. (2016). An inno-
vative approach to recover the metal values from spent
lithium-ion batteries. Waste Management, 51, 222–
226. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2015.11.004.
Bernardes, A.M., Espinosa, D.C.R., &Tenório, J.A.S.
(2004). Recycling of batteries: a review of cur-
rent processes and technologies. Journal of
power sources, 130(1), 291–298. doi: 10.1016
/j.jpowsour.2003.12.026.
Bi, H., Zhu, H., Zu, L., Bai, Y., Gao, S., &Gao, Y. (2019).
A new model of trajectory in eddy current separa-
tion for recovering spent lithium iron phosphate bat-
teries. Waste Management, 100, 1–9. doi: 10.1016/j.
wasman.2019.08.041.
Chen, M., Ma, X., Chen, B., Arsenault, R., Karlson, P.,
Simon, N., &Wang, Y. (2019). Recycling
End-of-Life Electric Vehicle Lithium-Ion
Batteries. Joule, 3(11), 2622–2646. doi: 10.1016
/j.joule.2019.09.014.
Chen, Y., Liu, N., Jie, Y., Hu, F., Li, Y., Wilson, B.P., Xi, Y.,
Lai, Y., &Yang, S. (2019). Toxicity Identification
and Evolution Mechanism of Thermolysis-Driven
Gas Emissions from Cathodes of Spent Lithium-
Ion Batteries. ACS Sustainable Chemistry &
Engineering, 7(22), 18228–18235. doi: 10.1021
/acssuschemeng.9b03739.
Ciez, R.E., &Whitacre, J.F. (2019). Examining differ-
ent recycling processes for lithium-ion batteries.
Nature Sustainability, 2(2), 148–156. doi: 10.1038
/s41893‑019‑0222‑5.
Curry, C. (2017). Lithium-ion battery costs and market.
Bloomberg New Energy Finance, 5, 4–6.
da Costa, A.J., Matos, J.F., Bernardes, A.M., &
Müller, I.L. (2015). Beneficiation of cobalt, cop-
per and aluminum from wasted lithium-ion batter-
ies by mechanical processing. International Journal
of Mineral Processing, 145, 77–82. doi: 10.1016
/j.minpro.2015.06.015.
Dutta, D., Kumari, A., Panda, R., Jha, S., Gupta, D.,
Goel, S., &Jha, M.K. (2018). Close loop separa-
tion process for the recovery of Co, Cu, Mn, Fe and
Li from spent lithium-ion batteries. Separation and
Purification Technology, 200, 327–334. doi: 10.1016
/j.seppur.2018.02.022.
Folayan, T.-O., Zhan, R., Huang, K., &Pan, L. (2023).
Improved Separation between Recycled Anode and
Cathode Materials from Li-Ion Batteries Using Coarse
Flake Particle Flotation. ACS Sustainable Chemistry
&Engineering, 11(7), 2917–2926. doi: 10.1021/
acssuschemeng.2c06311.
Gaines, L. (2014). The future of automotive lithium-
ion battery recycling: Charting a sustainable course.
Sustainable Materials and Technologies, 1–2, 2–7. doi:
10.1016/j.susmat.2014.10.001.
Gaines, L. (2018). Lithium-ion battery recycling processes:
Research towards a sustainable course. Sustainable
Materials and Technologies, 17, e00068. doi: 10.1016
/j.susmat.2018.e00068.
Harper, G., Sommerville, R., Kendrick, E., Driscoll, L.,
Slater, P., Stolkin, R., Walton, A., Christensen, P.,
Heidrich, O., Lambert, S., Abbott, A., Ryder, K.,
Gaines, L., &Anderson, P. (2019). Recycling lithium-
ion batteries from electric vehicles. Nature, 575(7781),
75–86. doi: 10.1038/s41586‑019‑1682‑5.
Jha, M.K., Kumari, A., Jha, A.K., Kumar, V., Hait, J., &
Pandey, B.D. (2013). Recovery of lithium and cobalt
from waste lithium ion batteries of mobile phone.
Waste Management, 33(9), 1890–1897. doi: 10.1016
/j.wasman.2013.05.008.
PVDF binder and cathode materials. Consequently, the
grade of NMC in the concentrate product was increased
from 95.7% to 98.4%. However, the yield of cathode
materials in the concentrate product was 50–60%. The
loss of cathode active materials in the overflow product was
attributed to the reduced density of PVDF-bonded cath-
ode composite materials. The thermal pyrolysis process was
introduced to remove PVDF in the black mass. At 400°C,
the majority of PVDF binder was decomposed after 1 hour
of pyrolysis treatment. The grade of NMC in the final con-
centrate product reached over 99% with 93% recovery. The
loss of cathode active materials to the overflow product was
predominantly attributed to the size of NMC particles.
This method can be integrated with complementary sepa-
ration methods to achieve the direct recycling of battery
materials from Li-ion batteries.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to acknowledge the financial
support from the Department of Energy (DOE) Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) under contract
number DE-EE0010398.
REFERENCES
Armand, M., &Tarascon, J.M. (2008). Building bet-
ter batteries. Nature, 451(7179), 652–657. doi:
10.1038/451652a.
Bai, Y., Muralidharan, N., Li, J., Essehli, R., &Belharouak, I.
(2020). Sustainable direct recycling of lithium-ion batter-
ies via solvent recovery of electrode materials.
Barik, S.P., Prabaharan, G., &Kumar, B. (2016). An inno-
vative approach to recover the metal values from spent
lithium-ion batteries. Waste Management, 51, 222–
226. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2015.11.004.
Bernardes, A.M., Espinosa, D.C.R., &Tenório, J.A.S.
(2004). Recycling of batteries: a review of cur-
rent processes and technologies. Journal of
power sources, 130(1), 291–298. doi: 10.1016
/j.jpowsour.2003.12.026.
Bi, H., Zhu, H., Zu, L., Bai, Y., Gao, S., &Gao, Y. (2019).
A new model of trajectory in eddy current separa-
tion for recovering spent lithium iron phosphate bat-
teries. Waste Management, 100, 1–9. doi: 10.1016/j.
wasman.2019.08.041.
Chen, M., Ma, X., Chen, B., Arsenault, R., Karlson, P.,
Simon, N., &Wang, Y. (2019). Recycling
End-of-Life Electric Vehicle Lithium-Ion
Batteries. Joule, 3(11), 2622–2646. doi: 10.1016
/j.joule.2019.09.014.
Chen, Y., Liu, N., Jie, Y., Hu, F., Li, Y., Wilson, B.P., Xi, Y.,
Lai, Y., &Yang, S. (2019). Toxicity Identification
and Evolution Mechanism of Thermolysis-Driven
Gas Emissions from Cathodes of Spent Lithium-
Ion Batteries. ACS Sustainable Chemistry &
Engineering, 7(22), 18228–18235. doi: 10.1021
/acssuschemeng.9b03739.
Ciez, R.E., &Whitacre, J.F. (2019). Examining differ-
ent recycling processes for lithium-ion batteries.
Nature Sustainability, 2(2), 148–156. doi: 10.1038
/s41893‑019‑0222‑5.
Curry, C. (2017). Lithium-ion battery costs and market.
Bloomberg New Energy Finance, 5, 4–6.
da Costa, A.J., Matos, J.F., Bernardes, A.M., &
Müller, I.L. (2015). Beneficiation of cobalt, cop-
per and aluminum from wasted lithium-ion batter-
ies by mechanical processing. International Journal
of Mineral Processing, 145, 77–82. doi: 10.1016
/j.minpro.2015.06.015.
Dutta, D., Kumari, A., Panda, R., Jha, S., Gupta, D.,
Goel, S., &Jha, M.K. (2018). Close loop separa-
tion process for the recovery of Co, Cu, Mn, Fe and
Li from spent lithium-ion batteries. Separation and
Purification Technology, 200, 327–334. doi: 10.1016
/j.seppur.2018.02.022.
Folayan, T.-O., Zhan, R., Huang, K., &Pan, L. (2023).
Improved Separation between Recycled Anode and
Cathode Materials from Li-Ion Batteries Using Coarse
Flake Particle Flotation. ACS Sustainable Chemistry
&Engineering, 11(7), 2917–2926. doi: 10.1021/
acssuschemeng.2c06311.
Gaines, L. (2014). The future of automotive lithium-
ion battery recycling: Charting a sustainable course.
Sustainable Materials and Technologies, 1–2, 2–7. doi:
10.1016/j.susmat.2014.10.001.
Gaines, L. (2018). Lithium-ion battery recycling processes:
Research towards a sustainable course. Sustainable
Materials and Technologies, 17, e00068. doi: 10.1016
/j.susmat.2018.e00068.
Harper, G., Sommerville, R., Kendrick, E., Driscoll, L.,
Slater, P., Stolkin, R., Walton, A., Christensen, P.,
Heidrich, O., Lambert, S., Abbott, A., Ryder, K.,
Gaines, L., &Anderson, P. (2019). Recycling lithium-
ion batteries from electric vehicles. Nature, 575(7781),
75–86. doi: 10.1038/s41586‑019‑1682‑5.
Jha, M.K., Kumari, A., Jha, A.K., Kumar, V., Hait, J., &
Pandey, B.D. (2013). Recovery of lithium and cobalt
from waste lithium ion batteries of mobile phone.
Waste Management, 33(9), 1890–1897. doi: 10.1016
/j.wasman.2013.05.008.