How do you recycle lithium-ion batteries?

Lithium-ion batteries are widely used in various mobile electronic products and new energy vehicles. However, as their service life comes to an end, the importance of battery recycling has increasingly emerged. This article will introduce in detail the key technologies and processes of lithium battery recycling.

1. Battery collection and classification

The recycling process collects scrap lithium batteries from different sources, including household appliances, mobile devices, and electric vehicles. These batteries are classified according to physical indicators such as chemical composition (lithium cobalt acid battery, NMC battery, etc.), battery volume, and appearance because different types of batteries require specialized processing processes. For example, NMC batteries are easier to temperature control than lithium cobalt acid batteries and are more difficult to recycle.

2. Battery discharge

Lithium battery recycling solutions

The classified batteries will undergo discharge processing, using constant current and constant voltage methods to reduce the battery voltage to a safe level (≤3V). This step mainly prevents safety accidents caused by accidental short circuits of battery components in subsequent steps.

3. Mechanical crushing and separation

The discharged batteries are crushed into small pieces by a machine, and then magnetic separation is used to recover electrode active materials such as cobalt, lithium, nickel, etc. Secondly, the eddy current separation method is used to accurately separate each component. At the same time, vibration sorting is used to recycle or dispose of worthless insulators such as plastic shells.

4. Metal refining and application

The separated metal needs to undergo in-depth processing, such as leaching, precipitation, electrolysis, etc., to remove impurities and obtain high-quality recycled metal. The content and purity of these recycled metals can meet battery-level requirements and can be used again in lithium battery production or other fields.

SUNY GROUP, the leading provider of lithium battery recycling solutions in China, uses a complete set of self-developed equipment, including automated sorting machines, discharge rooms, crushers, and multi-stage separation equipment, to recycle tens of thousands of tons of scrapped lithium batteries every year and realize resource recycling. use. Please feel free to consult if you need to.