A new recycling approach developed by Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) researchers could help make battery waste a valuable source of high-performance materials. In a study published in Advanced Energy Materials, one of the leading journals in the field, a team led by Professor Yan Wang, the William B. Smith Professor of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, converted mixed battery waste into upcycled materials for both the cathode and anode and found that the resulting pouch cells outlasted cells made with commercial counterparts.
As lithium-ion battery use grows, so does the pressure on supplies of critical materials and the volume of discarded batteries. Many current recycling methods focus on recovering cathode materials, and mixed battery waste can be difficult to process into products with high value. Wang’s team developed an approach that upgrades both cathode and graphite materials recovered from battery waste.
What happens when both cathodes and anodes are recycled and upgraded?
The researchers converted mixed, low-nickel cathode materials into a high-performance cathode called NMC622. They also purified and modified recovered graphite to make battery-grade anode material. Tests found improved lithium-ion transport and cycling stability in the cathode and better interfacial kinetics and durability in the graphite anode.
Can recycled battery materials outperform commercial alternatives?
The team then assembled full pouch cells using only the upcycled cathode and anode materials. The cells had fewer side reactions and approximately twice the cycle life of cells using commercial materials, retaining 70% of their capacity after 2,590 cycles.
What are the environmental and economic benefits of this recycling process?
The researchers also assessed the process’s potential economic and environmental benefits. Their analyses indicated that it could use more than 95% of waste materials, increase profitability by 22.9%, and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 27% and energy consumption by 29.4% compared with the reference recycling route.
What could this mean for the future of circular battery manufacturing?
The findings point to a path beyond recovering raw materials from used batteries: turning complex waste into components that can be used to make high-performance batteries. That could support more circular battery manufacturing while reducing the resources and energy needed to produce new materials.
How is WPI advancing more sustainable battery technologies?
Wang and his team at WPI have led extensive research into new ways to recycle and upgrade battery materials. His group has developed approaches to recover valuable materials from used electric vehicle batteries and to improve battery safety and sustainability through advances in recycling and battery design. Read more about WPI’s battery recycling research and other advances led by Wang’s team at: https://wp.wpi.edu/eel/.
