Improved reclaimation of lithium cobalt oxide from waste lithium ion batteries to be used as recycled active cathode material

Abstract

Lithium ion batteries are currently the most popular power source for the enormous varieties of portable electronic and electrical devices worldwide. The volume of such batteries after the end of service life and the presence of critical compounds in them requires special attention at disposal. Effective and feasible recycling of lithium ion batteries is hence very crucial both environmentally and economically for our country. Waste laptop batteries (Type- Lithium ion) has been collected and manually dismantled in the current work. Active electrode materials were scraped off from the copper current collector and polyethylene separators. The aluminum current collectors were found to be severely damaged and attached with the electrode material. It was treated with NaOH later to be recovered as Al2O3. The leaching of LiCoO2 was done by 3M HCl aided by 5% H2O2 at 60°C from the scraped active electrode materials (LiCoO2 and graphite) leaving the graphite completely. Co was precipitated as hydroxide by the addition of NaOH and later converted to Co3O4. The remaining solution was treated with saturated Na2CO3 to acquire Li2CO3 as crystalline precipitate with high purity. The recovery of Co and Li was 99% and 30%, respectively. Co3O4 and Li2CO3 were mixed in stoichiometric proportions and calcined at 950°C with air supply to achieve LiCoO2 successfully.