#lithiumrecycling — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #lithiumrecycling, aggregated by home.social.
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Microwave technique recovers 87% of batteries' #lithium in 15 minutes
By Michael Franco
July 30, 2024Excerpt: "Normally a compound needs to be heated in order to force metals to precipitate out and in the case of lithium-containing compounds, an oil bath usually provides that heat source. But the process takes a fair bit of time during which the lithium compounds can begin to degrade.
"To speed things up, the Rice team decided to give microwaves a try, knowing that the choline chloride that leads to the isolation of the lithium is very good at absorbing microwave radiation.
"The speed boost was impressive. The researchers were able to precipitate out the lithium almost 100 times faster than an oil bath. In fact, it took them just 15 minutes to get back 87% of the lithium – a process that would take 12 hours using an oil bath.
" 'This allowed us to leach lithium selectively over other metals,' said Sohini Bhattacharyya, one of the other lead authors and a postdoctoral fellow in the Nanomaterials Laboratory. 'Using microwave radiation for this process is akin to how a kitchen microwave heats food quickly. The energy is transferred directly to the molecules, making the reaction occur much faster than conventional heating methods.'
"The researchers say the method can also be tailored to target other elements by tuning the DES composition, so it could have the ability to recover other metals like cobalt or nickel from batteries. The team also highlights the eco-friendly benefits of its approach.
" 'This method not only enhances the recovery rate but also minimizes environmental impact, which makes it a promising step toward deploying DES-based recycling systems at scale for selective metal recovery,' said Pulickel Ajayan, the corresponding author on the study and department chair of materials science and nanoengineering."
Read more:
https://newatlas.com/energy/microwave-lithium-recycling/#SolarPunkSunday #LithiumRecycling #NoLithiumMining #Recycling #Reuse
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#BurlingtonVT startup #NthCycle scores billion-dollar metal #recycling deal
By Hiawatha Bray Globe Staff, March 17, 2026
"Both Nth Cycle and Ascend have developed water-based technologies to extract metals by reprocessing 'black mass,' the ground-up remnants of worn-out #lithiumIon batteries. They can also use the leftover scrap generated by battery manufacturers. Both companies claim that their technologies can capture these metals while generating far less #ToxicWaste than other recycling methods."
Read more:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/03/17/business/lithium-nickel-cobalt-recycling-us-china/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/6PoQj#SolarPunkSunday #MetalRecycling #LithiumRecycling #LionBatteries #BatteryRecycling #NickelRecycling #CobaltRecycling #Recycling #NoMining #Reuse
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Geesh. More stuff going on behind the scenes. It could be a full-time job trying to keep track of shifty bills and corporate wheeling and dealing!
Back Track on Mining Regulation:Legislative ENR Committee Poised to Weaken Environmental Protections
Sunlight Media Collective March 24, 2024
"On Monday, March 25, the Maine legislature’s Committee on Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) will discuss a new “Zombie Bill” version of #LD1471, a bill that was tabled last year. This bill takes a dangerous U-turn on #EnvironmentalProtections protections for metallic #mining in #Maine. This new version of LD1471 replaces language about strengthening environmental and human health mining protections with language that instead weakens Maine’s mining law and creates a loophole that specifically exempts #OpenPit #LithiumMining from environmental protections in the law.
"Writing a “Zombie Bill” is sneaky, undemocratic politics. The Maine Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) missed the deadline for this legislative session to have the legislature review these new rules regarding open-pit lithium mining. Instead of going through a transparent, democratic process of review in the next legislative session, the #JanetMills administration, pushed by the mining industry and in cooperation with the ENR committee, is bringing this zombie bill forward in an attempt to rush it through without a public hearing.
"We deserve the right to a public hearing and to submit testimony on this legislation, but this undemocratic process takes away our right to do so. There is no online portal available to submit testimony, so please submit comment by email or in person."
#NoMetallicMiningInMaine #NoLithiumMining #NoOpenPitMining #ProtectTheForest #LithiumRecycling
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#EV #battery repair is dangerous. Here’s why mechanics want to do it anyway.
Fixing car and #ebike batteries saves money and resources — but challenges are holding back the industry.
by Maddie Stone, Dec 08, 2023
"About three times a day, Rich Benoit gets a call to his auto shop, The Electrified Garage, from the owner of an older Tesla Model S whose car battery has begun to fail. The battery, which used to provide several hundred miles of range, might suddenly only last 50 miles on a single charge. These cars are often out of warranty, and the cost of replacing the battery can exceed $15,000.
"For most products, repair is a more affordable option than replacement. And in theory, lots of these Tesla batteries can be fixed, said Benoit, who runs one of the few Tesla-focused independent repair shops in the United States. But due to the time and training involved, the safety considerations, and the complexity of the repair, Benoit said that the bill to fix one car battery at his shop might run upwards of $10,000 — more than most consumers are willing to pay. Instead, he said, many choose to sell or donate their old vehicle for scrap and buy a brand new Tesla.
“'It’s getting to the point where [the car] is almost like a consumable, like a TV,' Benoit said.
"Benoit’s experience heralds a problem that early adopters of EVs, as well as electric micromobility devices like e-bikes and #escooters, are beginning to face: These vehicles contain big, expensive batteries that will inevitably degrade or stop working over time. Repairing these batteries can have sustainability benefits, saving energy and resources that would otherwise be used to manufacture a new one. That’s particularly important for EVs, which contain very large batteries that must be used for years to offset the carbon emissions associated with making them.
But many EV and e-mobility batteries are difficult to repair by design, and some manufacturers actively discourage the practice, citing safety concerns. The small number of independent mechanics who repair EV or e-bike batteries struggle to do so affordably due to design challenges, safety requirements, and a lack of access to spare parts.
“'There are a lot of automakers who do not allow battery repair, even in case of minor damages to the battery case,' a GDV spokesperson told Grist. Automakers sometimes choose to replace the battery if the car was involved in an accident that caused the airbags to activate. Both practices 'will lead to an increase of repair costs,' and ultimately, higher insurance premiums, the spokesperson said.
"New rules around EV battery repairability would come at a critical time. Helps, of Cox Automotive, said that two trends in EV battery design are occurring in parallel: 'Batteries are either becoming very serviceable, or not serviceable at all.'
"Some, like the batteries inside Volkswagon’s ID.4, feature LEGO-like modules that are easy to remove and replace. Others, like Tesla’s new 4680 structural battery pack, don’t include modules at all. Instead, all of the cells are bonded together and bonded to the pack itself, a design Helps described as 'impossible to service.' If a bad cell group is found, the entire battery must be replaced.
“'It’s still a fully #recyclable battery,' Helps said. 'You’re just not able to repair it.'
"#Tesla didn’t respond to Grist’s request for comment."
#EVRepair #RightToRepair #EVParts #ReuseRecycle #LithiumRecycling
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More of this, please! More #LithiumRecycling, less #LithiumMining !
Groundbreaking study makes huge discovery about recycled #lithium-ion batteries: ‘[This is] increasingly needed’
Brett Aresco
October 26, 2023"As if you needed yet another reason to #recycle your #electronics with lithium-ion batteries, a study in the science journal Joule shows that recycled lithium-ion batteries may outperform their new counterparts.
"Working in tandem, a group of 27 researchers from institutions like the Argonne National Laboratory and the Brookhaven National Laboratory tweaked the composition of recycled lithium-ion batteries to see how they would perform. They achieved some surprising results.
"To reach their unexpected conclusions, the scientists behind the study made some changes to the cathode, which is the key —and most expensive — component within a typical lithium-ion battery.
"Rather than melting down the entire used battery (as most other recycling processes do), the team was able to salvage the cathode and merely change its structure, resulting in better performance than even a new battery can offer.
:Kang Xu, a U.S. Army Research Laboratory scientist unaffiliated with the study, told Scientific American that the research team’s results were 'very unique and very impressive.' The study’s findings also have the potential to be combined with similar research involving recycled anodes, the counterparts of cathodes.
"In a 2022 study from Rice University published in the journal Advanced Materials, for instance, scientists were able to 'quickly regenerate graphite anode materials found in lithium-ion batteries, removing impurities so they can be used again and again.' [However, where will the 'impurities go? Always consider potential waste sources!]
"Improved lithium-ion battery recycling will not only help the environment and consumers but businesses as well.
"'Battery manufacturers want to know that recycled cathode materials are not inferior to new cathode materials,' said Yan Wang, a scientist from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute who contributed to the Joule study. 'This research shows that recycled materials can electrochemically match or outperform pristine, state-of-the-art cathode materials from tier 1 suppliers.'
"Beyond losing valuable materials and structures that could be reused, failure to recycle lithium-ion batteries can have disastrous consequences.
"In 2017, USA Today reported that 65% of fires at California waste management facilities were caused by discarded lithium-ion batteries. And yet, people can’t seem to stop trashing them: In early February, a garbage truck in Columbus, Ohio, caught fire because a careless consumer threw out their laptop.
"The question of how to make lithium-ion battery recycling profitable has long vexed companies, governments, and #environmental advocates.
"'Economically viable electric vehicle lithium-ion battery recycling is increasingly needed,' a 2021 paper in the journal iScience concluded. 'However routes to profitability are still unclear.' [IT'S ALWAYS ABOUT THE PROFIT, EH?]
"This study has the potential to change that paradigm entirely.
'This work,' the authors write, 'proves that recycled materials could potentially be reused in new batteries and the profitable recycling process could be realized.'"Luckily, there are a number of startups, like #Germany’s #Tozero and #Canada’s #LiCycle, that are committed to making lithium-ion battery recycling mainstream. With any luck, they will be able to incorporate the lessons learned from this latest study, and more consumers will be willing to give their old batteries another chance."
https://news.yahoo.com/groundbreaking-study-makes-huge-discovery-093010839.html