Abstract
Separation processes for recovering cobalt, nickel, copper, and other metals from spent lithium-ion batteries are reviewed. The roasting process, which is now becoming the mainstream recycling process, is shown to play an important role in terms of safety and separation efficiency. The flow of further separation into cathode active material, called black mass, copper, iron, and aluminum by a physical separation process consisting of grinding and physical separation is introduced. The separated cathode active material is separated into cobalt and nickel by a chemical separation process consisting of acid leaching and solvent extraction. In addition, the authors introduce a new concept they are working on for the separation process, which does not include roasting to create an inner resource recycling loop, as described in the concept of a circular economy. Lastly, an example of another new separation technology for aluminum and cathode active material particles using the electrical pulsed discharge is also presented.
