Remanufacturing of lithium iron phosphate batteries. Free Technical Library News

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Recovery of lithium iron phosphate batteries

05.11.2020

Most modern lithium batteries use cobalt as the cathode component. This metal is quite expensive and rare, and its mining causes considerable harm to the environment. Lithium iron phosphate batteries that use LiFePO4 as the cathode are more environmentally friendly. Scientists from the University of California have developed a method that allows you to replace the expensive disposal of such batteries with cheap recovery.

Cobalt mining leads to the degradation of landscapes and water resources. Therefore, many companies (IBM and Tesla) and scientists are looking for alternative battery components.

For example, this year Tesla will start selling a Model 3 car with a lithium iron phosphate battery. These batteries are safer, have a longer life and are cheaper to manufacture. Still, these batteries have a serious drawback: they are expensive to dispose of. Therefore, engineers from the University of California focused on finding methods for the disposal and recovery of such batteries.

During the life cycle of a battery, its cathode undergoes degradation. The reason for this is the loss of lithium and a change in the position of iron ions in the crystal structure of the material. Scientists were able to replenish the stocks of ions and return them to their places with the help of lithium salts and citric acid.

The research team bought simple lithium iron phosphate batteries and depleted them to half. Then they were disassembled and the powder of the cathode component was soaked in a solution with lithium salts and citric acid, dried and heated to a temperature of about 60-80 °C. The resulting powder was used to make new cathodes for batteries. The scientists found that performance was restored to its original state.

This method allowed the lithium and iron ions to return to their original positions in the cathode structure. This is due to the addition of citric acid, which "feeds" the iron ions with electrons and reduces the positive charge that repels the electrons.

This recycling method uses 80-90% less energy than current lithium iron phosphate battery recycling methods and emits about 75% less greenhouse gases. While this is a great start, the team notes that further research is needed.

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