Selective Leaching for the Recycling of Lithium, Iron, and Phosphorous from Lithium-Ion Battery Cathodes’ Production Scraps

The market for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries is projected to grow in the near future. However, recycling methods targeting LFP batteries, especially production scraps, are still underdeveloped. This study investigated the extraction of iron phosphate and lithium from LFP production scraps u...

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Main Authors: Martina Bruno, Carlotta Francia, Silvia Fiore
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Batteries
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2313-0105/10/12/415
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author Martina Bruno
Carlotta Francia
Silvia Fiore
author_facet Martina Bruno
Carlotta Francia
Silvia Fiore
author_sort Martina Bruno
collection DOAJ
description The market for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries is projected to grow in the near future. However, recycling methods targeting LFP batteries, especially production scraps, are still underdeveloped. This study investigated the extraction of iron phosphate and lithium from LFP production scraps using selective leaching, considering technical and economic aspects. Two leaching agents, sulfuric acid (0.25–0.5 M, 25 °C, 1 h, 50 g/L) and citric acid (0.25–0.5 M, 25 °C, 1 h, 70 g/L) were compared; hydrogen peroxide (3–6%vv.) was added to prevent iron and phosphorous solubilization. Sulfuric acid leached up to 98% of Li and recovered up to 98% of Fe and P in the solid residues. Citric acid leached 18–26% of Li and recovered 98% of Fe and P. Totally, 28% of Li was precipitated for sulfuric acid process, while recovery with citric acid did not produce enough precipitate for a characterization. Sulfur is the main impurity present in the precipitates. The total operative costs associated with reagents and energy consumption of the sulfuric acid route were below 3.00 €/kg. In conclusion, selective leaching provided a viable and economic method to recycle LFP production scraps, and it is worth further research to optimize Lithium recovery.
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spelling doaj-art-4d79837dd2d045eeb0f92a5f5fb218d22025-08-20T02:01:00ZengMDPI AGBatteries2313-01052024-11-01101241510.3390/batteries10120415Selective Leaching for the Recycling of Lithium, Iron, and Phosphorous from Lithium-Ion Battery Cathodes’ Production ScrapsMartina Bruno0Carlotta Francia1Silvia Fiore2DIATI, Department of Environment, Land and Infrastructure Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Turin, ItalyDISAT, Department of Applied Sciences and Technology, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Turin, ItalyDIATI, Department of Environment, Land and Infrastructure Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Turin, ItalyThe market for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries is projected to grow in the near future. However, recycling methods targeting LFP batteries, especially production scraps, are still underdeveloped. This study investigated the extraction of iron phosphate and lithium from LFP production scraps using selective leaching, considering technical and economic aspects. Two leaching agents, sulfuric acid (0.25–0.5 M, 25 °C, 1 h, 50 g/L) and citric acid (0.25–0.5 M, 25 °C, 1 h, 70 g/L) were compared; hydrogen peroxide (3–6%vv.) was added to prevent iron and phosphorous solubilization. Sulfuric acid leached up to 98% of Li and recovered up to 98% of Fe and P in the solid residues. Citric acid leached 18–26% of Li and recovered 98% of Fe and P. Totally, 28% of Li was precipitated for sulfuric acid process, while recovery with citric acid did not produce enough precipitate for a characterization. Sulfur is the main impurity present in the precipitates. The total operative costs associated with reagents and energy consumption of the sulfuric acid route were below 3.00 €/kg. In conclusion, selective leaching provided a viable and economic method to recycle LFP production scraps, and it is worth further research to optimize Lithium recovery.https://www.mdpi.com/2313-0105/10/12/415economic assessmentlithium iron phosphateproduction scrapsrecyclingselective leaching
spellingShingle Martina Bruno
Carlotta Francia
Silvia Fiore
Selective Leaching for the Recycling of Lithium, Iron, and Phosphorous from Lithium-Ion Battery Cathodes’ Production Scraps
Batteries
economic assessment
lithium iron phosphate
production scraps
recycling
selective leaching
title Selective Leaching for the Recycling of Lithium, Iron, and Phosphorous from Lithium-Ion Battery Cathodes’ Production Scraps
title_full Selective Leaching for the Recycling of Lithium, Iron, and Phosphorous from Lithium-Ion Battery Cathodes’ Production Scraps
title_fullStr Selective Leaching for the Recycling of Lithium, Iron, and Phosphorous from Lithium-Ion Battery Cathodes’ Production Scraps
title_full_unstemmed Selective Leaching for the Recycling of Lithium, Iron, and Phosphorous from Lithium-Ion Battery Cathodes’ Production Scraps
title_short Selective Leaching for the Recycling of Lithium, Iron, and Phosphorous from Lithium-Ion Battery Cathodes’ Production Scraps
title_sort selective leaching for the recycling of lithium iron and phosphorous from lithium ion battery cathodes production scraps
topic economic assessment
lithium iron phosphate
production scraps
recycling
selective leaching
url https://www.mdpi.com/2313-0105/10/12/415
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AT silviafiore selectiveleachingfortherecyclingoflithiumironandphosphorousfromlithiumionbatterycathodesproductionscraps