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Advances in Manufacturing and Recycling of Battery Materials

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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Electronic Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 October 2022) | Viewed by 15164

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Jeong-Soo Sohn

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Guest Editor

Minerals and Materials Processing Division, Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, Taejon 305-350, Korea
Interests: metal extraction; separation of metal ions; purification of metal compounds; recycling of spent lithium-ion batteries; manufacturing of battery materials; leaching of metal compounds by deep eutectic solvents

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Demands for innovative battery materials are increasing in the market of IT mobile industry, electric vehicle, and energy storage systems, as interests in higher capacity and higher stability batteries increase in the era of the fourth industrial revolution and green energy.

To meet these demands, various next-generation batteries are currently being developed, such as all-solid-state, metal-air, redox-flow, lithium-sulfur, polyvalent ion, NaS, NaNi, and advanced capacitors. Moreover continuous and further research activities are needed to improve energy density, achieve low cost, and improve safety.

As electric vehicles are changed with internal combustion engine vehicles, the demand for cathode material, such as cobalt, nickel, and lithium are growing and the necessity for recycling of spent lithium-ion battery are rising. Effective spent battery recycling technology is very important for securing more amounts of battery materials, as well as solving the environmental problems due to the wrong disposal of spent battery. Even though there are some commercialized recycling processes for battery scraps and small-sized spent LIBs globally, economical, and eco-friendly recycling processes are not developed yet for large-scale spent LIBs used in EV and ESS.

This Special Issue will focus on the advances in manufacturing and recycling of battery materials for solving the bottlenecks in next-generation batteries and economical recycling process. Particularly, greater engagement with recycling will allow the battery manufacturing industry more chances to contribute to the circular economy.

It is my pleasure to invite you to submit to this Special Issue. Full papers, communications, and reviews are welcome.

Dr. Jeong-Soo Sohn
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

manufacturing battery materials
recycling of large scale spent LIBs
all solid state battery
metal-air battery
vanadium redox flow battery
lithium-sulfur battery
NaS, NaNi
advanced pyrometallurgical/hydrometallurgical recycling process
application of deep eutectic solvent for ecofriendly leaching
re-use, direct reutilization of spent LIBs
recycling of ESS and FCEV

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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30 pages, 7228 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Studies of Selective Recovery of Zinc and Manganese from Alkaline Batteries Scrap by Leaching and Precipitation

by Tomasz Skrzekut, Andrzej Piotrowicz, Piotr Noga, Maciej Wędrychowicz and Adam W. Bydałek

Materials 2022, 15(11), 3966; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15113966 - 02 Jun 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1787

Abstract

Recovery of zinc and manganese from scrapped alkaline batteries were carried out in the following way: leaching in H₂SO₄ and selective precipitation of zinc and manganese by alkalization/neutralization. As a result of non-selective leaching, 95.6–99.7% Zn was leached and 83.7–99.3% Mn was leached. A critical technological parameter is the liquid/solid treatment (l/s) ratio, which should be at least 20 mL∙g⁻¹. Selective leaching, which allows the leaching of zinc only, takes place with a leaching yield of 84.8–98.5% Zn, with minimal manganese co-leaching, 0.7–12.3%. The optimal H₂SO₄ concentration is 0.25 mol∙L⁻¹. Precipitation of zinc and manganese from the solution after non-selective leaching, with the use of NaOH at pH = 13, and then with H₂SO₄ to pH = 9, turned out to be ineffective: the manganese concentrate contained 19.9 wt.% Zn and zinc concentrate, and 21.46 wt.% Mn. Better selectivity results were obtained if zinc was precipitated from the solution after selective leaching: at pH = 6.5, 90% of Zn precipitated, and only 2% manganese. Moreover, the obtained concentrate contained over 90% of ZnO. The precipitation of zinc with sodium phosphate and sodium carbonate is non-selective, despite its relatively high efficiency: up to 93.70% of Zn and 4.48–93.18% of Mn and up to 95.22% of Zn and 19.55–99.71% Mn, respectively for Na₃PO₄ and Na₂CO₃. Recovered zinc and manganese compounds could have commercial values with suitable refining processes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Manufacturing and Recycling of Battery Materials)

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9 pages, 2736 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effect of Excessive Sulfate in the Li-Ion Battery Leachate on the Properties of Resynthesized Li[Ni_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3]O₂

by Jimin Lee, Sanghyuk Park, Mincheol Beak, Sang Ryul Park, Ah Reum Lee, Suk Hyun Byun, Junho Song, Jeong Soo Sohn and Kyungjung Kwon

Materials 2021, 14(21), 6672; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma14216672 - 05 Nov 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2029

Abstract

In order to examine the effect of excessive sulfate in the leachate of spent Li-ion batteries (LIBs), LiNi_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3O₂ (pristine NCM) and sulfate-containing LiNi_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3O₂ (NCMS) are prepared by a co-precipitation method. The crystal structures, morphology, surface species, and electrochemical performances of both cathode active materials are studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and charge-discharge tests. The XRD patterns and XPS results identify the presence of sulfate groups on the surface of NCMS. While pristine NCM exhibits a very dense surface in SEM images, NCMS has a relatively porous surface, which could be attributed to the sulfate impurities that hinder the growth of primary particles. The charge-discharge tests show that discharge capacities of NCMS at C-rates, which range from 0.1 to 5 C, are slightly decreased compared to pristine NCM. In dQ/dV plots, pristine NCM and NCMS have the same redox overvoltage regardless of discharge C-rates. The omnipresent sulfate due to the sulfuric acid leaching of spent LIBs has a minimal effect on resynthesized NCM cathode active materials as long as their precursors are adequately washed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Manufacturing and Recycling of Battery Materials)

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12 pages, 5013 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Utilizing the Intrinsic Thermal Instability of Swedenborgite Structured YBaCo₄O_7+δ as an Opportunity for Material Engineering in Lithium-Ion Batteries by Er and Ga Co-Doping Processes

by Sanghyuk Park, Kwangho Park, Ji-Seop Shin, Gyeongbin Ko, Wooseok Kim, Jun-Young Park and Kyungjung Kwon

Materials 2021, 14(16), 4565; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma14164565 - 14 Aug 2021

Viewed by 1908

Abstract

We firstly introduce Er and Ga co-doped swedenborgite-structured YBaCo₄O_7+δ (YBC) as a cathode-active material in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), aiming at converting the phase instability of YBC at high temperatures into a strategic way of enhancing the structural stability of layered cathode-active materials. Our recent publication reported that Y_0.8Er_0.2BaCo_3.2Ga_0.8O_7+δ (YEBCG) showed excellent phase stability compared to YBC in a fuel cell operating condition. By contrast, the feasibility of the LiCoO₂ (LCO) phase, which is derived from swedenborgite-structured YBC-based materials, as a LIB cathode-active material is investigated and the effects of co-doping with the Er and Ga ions on the structural and electrochemical properties of Li-intercalated YBC are systemically studied. The intrinsic swedenborgite structure of YBC-based materials with tetrahedrally coordinated Co²⁺/Co³⁺ are partially transformed into octahedrally coordinated Co³⁺, resulting in the formation of an LCO layered structure with a space group of R-3m that can work as a Li-ion migration path. Li-intercalated YEBCG (Li[YEBCG]) shows effective suppression of structural phase transition during cycling, leading to the enhancement of LIB performance in Coulombic efficiency, capacity retention, and rate capability. The galvanostatic intermittent titration technique, cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy are performed to elucidate the enhanced phase stability of Li[YEBCG]. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Manufacturing and Recycling of Battery Materials)

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13 pages, 12191 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Residual Trace Amounts of Fe and Al in Li[Ni_1/3Mn_1/3Co_1/3]O₂ Cathode Active Material for the Sustainable Recycling of Lithium-Ion Batteries

by Seongdeock Jeong, Sanghyuk Park, Mincheol Beak, Jangho Park, Jeong-Soo Sohn and Kyungjung Kwon

Materials 2021, 14(9), 2464; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma14092464 - 10 May 2021

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3358

Abstract

As the explosive growth of the electric vehicle market leads to an increase in spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), the disposal of LIBs has also made headlines. In this study, we synthesized the cathode active materials Li[Ni_1/3Mn_1/3Co_1/3]O₂ (NMC) and Li[Ni_1/3Mn_1/3Co_1/3Fe_0.0005Al_0.0005]O₂ (NMCFA) via hydroxide co-precipitation and calcination processes, which simulate the resynthesis of NMC in leachate containing trace amounts of iron and aluminum from spent LIBs. The effects of iron and aluminum on the physicochemical and electrochemical properties were investigated and compared with NMC. Trace amounts of iron and aluminum do not affect the morphology, the formation of O3-type layered structures, or the redox peak. On the other hand, the rate capability of NMCFA shows high discharge capacities at 7 C (110 mAh g⁻¹) and 10 C (74 mAh g⁻¹), comparable to the values for NMC at 5 C (111 mAh g⁻¹) and 7 C (79 mAh g⁻¹), respectively, due to the widened interslab thickness of NMCFA which facilitates the movement of lithium ions in a 2D channel. Therefore, iron and aluminum, which are usually considered as impurities in the recycling of LIBs, could be used as doping elements for enhancing the electrochemical performance of resynthesized cathode active materials. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Manufacturing and Recycling of Battery Materials)

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Review

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41 pages, 7300 KiB

Open AccessReview

Metallic Material Selection and Prospective Surface Treatments for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Bipolar Plates—A Review

by Tereza Bohackova, Jakub Ludvik and Milan Kouril

Materials 2021, 14(10), 2682; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma14102682 - 20 May 2021

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 5125

Abstract

The aim of this review is to summarize the possibilities of replacing graphite bipolar plates in fuel-cells. The review is mostly focused on metallic bipolar plates, which benefit from many properties required for fuel cells, viz. good mechanical properties, thermal and electrical conductivity, availability, and others. The main disadvantage of metals is that their corrosion resistance in the fuel-cell environment originates from the formation of a passive layer, which significantly increases interfacial contact resistance. Suitable coating systems prepared by a proper deposition method are eventually able to compensate for this disadvantage and make the replacement of graphite bipolar plates possible. This review compares coatings, materials, and deposition methods based on electrochemical measurements and contact resistance properties with respect to achieving appropriate parameters established by the DOE as objectives for 2020. An extraordinary number of studies have been performed, but only a minority of them provided promising results. One of these is the nanocrystalline β-Nb₂N coating on AISI 430, prepared by the disproportionation reaction of Nb(IV) in molten salt, which satisfied the DOE 2020 objectives in terms of corrosion resistance and interfacial contact resistance. From other studies, TiN, CrN, NbC, TiC, or amorphous carbon-based coatings seem to be promising. This paper is novel in extracting important aspects for future studies and methods for testing the properties of metallic materials and factors affecting monitoring characteristics and parameters. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Manufacturing and Recycling of Battery Materials)

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