1. Lithium Batteries
The use of lithium batteries has grown exponentially in recent decades due to their unique combination of high energy density, long lifespan, and lightweight design. These features make them an ideal solution for portable electronic devices, electric vehicles, and renewable energy storage systems.
Moreover, their ability to recharge quickly and maintain consistent performance across multiple charge and discharge cycles positions them as a key technology in a world moving toward sustainability and electric mobility. Despite these advantages, their increasing use poses a critical environmental challenge: what to do with them at the end of their life cycle.
2. The Best Solution: Battery Recycling
Given the limited availability of lithium and its anticipated price increase, recycling spent batteries emerges as an efficient solution to ensure lithium availability at reasonable costs. The combination of vacuum evaporators and industrial crystallizers has proven to be the most efficient for the recovery of lithium and other valuable raw materials.
In addition to lithium, these batteries contain valuable materials such as cobalt, nickel, manganese, and copper, whose extraction has a significant environmental impact. Furthermore, discarded batteries can release toxic substances, such as electrolytes and heavy metals, which are high-risk pollutants.
The recycling process involves several stages:
- Battery collection
- Classification and discharge of electricity
- Separation of components to obtain the anode and cathode (the parts enabling the battery's electrochemical reaction).
The most common recycling process involves physical-chemical treatment, in which disassembled batteries undergo a leaching process. Acids and alkalis are used to dissolve and recover their reusable components.
Basic stages of lithium battery recycling:
- Classification of used batteries by type
- Dismantling of components (casings, electrodes, etc.)
- Chemical treatment to extract and separate valuable metals (Li, Mn, Co…)
- Purification of extracted metals to make them reusable in new batteries
3. Vacuum Evaporation for Lithium and Other Material Recovery
Vacuum evaporators are the most efficient technology for recovering various valuable materials during the lithium battery recycling process. Additionally, they enable the separation of undesirable substances, minimizing them for subsequent management.
The combination of vacuum evaporation with industrial crytallizers and drying processes allows for the recovery of a large portion of the raw materials used in these batteries. Moreover, these materials are recovered with high concentrations and purification rates, enabling their reuse.
Materials that can be recovered include:
- Lithium hydroxide (LiOH)
- Lithium carbonate (Li2CO3)
- Cobalt chloride (CoCl2)
- Lithium chloride (LiCl)
- Manganese sulfate (MnSO4)
- Cobalt sulfate (CoSO4)
- Lithium sulfate (Li2SO4)
- Nickel sulfate (NiSO4)
- Zinc sulfate (ZnSO4)
Lithium battery recycling through vacuum evaporation and crystallization is rapidly evolving to meet the growing demand for lithium. New research focuses on optimizing this process to make it more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. Additionally, combining this method with renewable energy can reduce its carbon footprint, making it more viable and cost-effective.
