Hydrometallurgical recycling of valuable metals from spent lithium-ion batteries by reductive leaching with stannous chloride

Liu-ye Sun; Bo-rui Liu; Tong Wu; Guan-ge Wang; Qing Huang; Yue-feng Su; Feng Wu

doi:10.1007/s12613-020-2115-z

Volume 28 Issue 6

Jun. 2021

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Article Navigation > International Journal of Minerals, Metallurgy and Materials > 2021 > 28(6): 991-1000

Liu-ye Sun, Bo-rui Liu, Tong Wu, Guan-ge Wang, Qing Huang, Yue-feng Su, and Feng Wu, Hydrometallurgical recycling of valuable metals from spent lithium-ion batteries by reductive leaching with stannous chloride, Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater., 28(2021), No. 6, pp. 991-1000. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-020-2115-z

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Liu-ye Sun, Bo-rui Liu, Tong Wu, Guan-ge Wang, Qing Huang, Yue-feng Su, and Feng Wu, Hydrometallurgical recycling of valuable metals from spent lithium-ion batteries by reductive leaching with stannous chloride, Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater., 28(2021), No. 6, pp. 991-1000. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-020-2115-z

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Research Article

Hydrometallurgical recycling of valuable metals from spent lithium-ion batteries by reductive leaching with stannous chloride

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Corresponding author:
Qing Huang E-mail: huangqing3121@sina.com
Received: 10 March 2020; Revised: 16 May 2020; Accepted: 8 June 2020; Available online: 10 June 2020

Abstract

Abstract

The reductant is a critical factor in the hydrometallurgical recycling of valuable metals from spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). There is limited information regarding the use of SnCl₂ as a reductant with organic acid (maleic acid) for recovering valuable metals from spent LiCoO₂ material. In this study, the leaching efficiencies of Li and Co with 1 mol·L⁻¹ of maleic acid and 0.3 mol·L⁻¹ of SnCl₂ were found to be 98.67% and 97.5%, respectively, at 60°C and a reaction time of 40 min. We investigated the kinetics and thermodynamics of the leaching process in this study to better understand the mechanism of the leaching process. Based on a comparison with H₂O₂ with respect to leaching efficiency, the optimal leaching parameters, and the activation energy, we determined that it is feasible to replace H₂O₂ with SnCl₂ as a leaching reductant in the leaching process. In addition, when SnCl₂ is used in the acid-leaching process, Sn residue in the leachate may have a positive effect on the re-synthesis of nickel-rich cathode materials. Therefore, the results of this study provide a potential direction for the selection of reductants in the hydrometallurgical recovery of valuable metals from spent LIBs.
- spent lithium-ion batteries;
- recovery;
- maleic acid;
- reductant;
- stannous chloride

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