CO2 + H2O = cleaner recycling of dead lithium batteries?

Chinese scientists have found a way to recycle lithium batteries using only carbon dioxide and water – eliminating the need for harsh, polluting chemicals to extract the lithium and upcycle cathode materials.

The team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Beijing Institute of Technology said they used a “three-in-one” strategy to improve lithium recovery, upgrade transition metals like cobalt and nickel, and sequester carbon to eliminate waste by-products.

Their method achieved a lithium leaching efficiency exceeding 95 per cent – comparable to traditional recycling methods that require corrosive chemicals and produce hazardous waste water.

“This approach not only provides an efficient pathway for lithium recovery but also upcycles spent cathode materials into valuable catalysts, supporting sustainable energy conversion technologies,” the team said in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications on January 10.

A cathode is the positive electrode of a battery and can be made using metals like lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese.

“Conducted under ambient conditions without additional grinding aids or leaching agents, this method minimises environmental impact,” according to the scientists.

South China Morning Post