August 9, 2024: A research team at Rice University in Texas have developed a new method to successfully extract purified active materials from battery waste.
The team, led by James Tour a professor of chemistry and materials science and nanoengineering at the Houston-based university, have been tackling the environmental issue of efficiently recycling lithium-ion batteries.
Their findings, published in the journal Nature Communications on July 24, propose that magnetic properties could facilitate the separation and purification of spent battery materials at a minimal fee. The method would also contribute to the greener production of EV’s.
“With the surge in battery use, particularly in EVs, the need for developing sustainable recycling methods is pressing,” Tour said.
Conventional recycling techniques typically involve breaking down battery materials into their elemental forms through energy-intensive thermal or chemical processes that are costly and have significant environmental impacts.
The team’s innovation uses a method known as solvent-free Flash Joule Heating — a technique devised by Tour — which involves passing a current through a moderately resistive material to rapidly heat and transform it into other substances.
Using FJH, the researchers heated battery waste to 2,500° Kelvin within seconds, creating unique features with magnetic shells and stable core structures. During the process, the cobalt-based battery cathodes — typically used in EVs and associated with high financial, environmental and social costs — unexpectedly showed magnetism in the outer spinel cobalt oxide layers, allowing for easy separation from the core.
The magnetic separation allowed for efficient purification, according to RICE researchers and their method resulted in a high battery metal recovery yield of 98%, with the value of battery structure maintained.
“Notably, the metal impurities were significantly reduced after separation while preserving the structure and functionality of the materials,” Tour said.
“The bulk structure of battery materials remains stable and is ready to be reconstituted into new cathodes.”
