Best Technical Work – 2023 Winner

“Analysis of energy demand for recycling electric vehicle batteries through a flexible hydrometallurgical process” 

Authors: Luciana Assis Gobo, Andre Ferrarese, Elio Kumoto, Rafael Obara da TUPY and Amilton Barbosa Botelho Junior, Jorge Alberto Soares Tenório e Denise C. R. Espinosa da University of Sao Paulo.

Summary: The decarbonization of the transport sector through electrification is limited if we consider the life cycle of lithium-ion batteries from manufacture to disposal. Such batteries, when reaching the end of their useful life, must be recycled because, by recovering these critical metals, it increases the circularity of the materials and the production of batteries again, in addition to reducing CO2 emissions and the impacts associated with mining activities. Currently, recycling processes use pyrometallurgy techniques, employing high temperature, high energy consumption and higher CO2 emissions. Hydrometallurgy has stood out as a promising process for recycling batteries, with high efficiency, use of low temperatures, lower emissions, and lower energy consumption. This work aims to analyze the energy demand and the yield of recycled materials through the developed hydrometallurgical process, since it aims to minimize the emission of waste in nature with a flexible process for recycling lithium-ion batteries. Different types of batteries were processed, physical separation and leaching recovered more than 90% of the minerals of interest with a reduction in energy consumption of up to 65% compared to pyrometallurgical techniques.