Air Option 1: AIR Technology Translation - Lithium Ion Battery Recycling: From Laboratory Research to Industrial Commercialization

Air方案1：AIR技术翻译——锂离子电池回收：从实验室研究到工业商业化

• 批准号: 1343439
• 负责人: Yan Wang
• 金额: $ 14.99万
• 依托单位: Worcester Polytechnic Institute
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-10-01 至 2016-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1343439&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Air; Option; AIR; Technology; Translation

This PFI: AIR Technology Translation project focuses on translating a fundamental recycling technology to address gaps in the existing Li-ion battery recycling processes. The translated recycling technology demonstrates lower cost and higher efficiency when compared to existing hydrometallurgical or pyrometallurgical recycling techniques in this market space. The project accomplishes its objectives by recovering cathode materials from spent Li-ion batteries and producing new cathode materials regardless of the Li-ion battery cathode chemistry. In addition, the project will recover copper current collectors using a sensor-based sorting technology that, combined with the proposed hydrometallurgical recovery process, will result in a closed-loop industrial recycling process for Li-ion batteries with varying chemistries. The partnership engages wTe Corporation to provide guidance in sensing technologies to extract copper-bearing materials. wTe will also assist with addressing marketing, financing, and commercialization issues in order to translate the proposed Li-ion battery recycling process to a competitive commercial reality. With increasing consumer demand for hybrid cars, electrical cars, portable electronics, and grid systems, the usage of Li-ion batteries is increasing and is only projected to rise in the future. Since the largest Li reserves exist in politically unstable or uncooperative countries, demand for these critical resources are a matter of national strategic importance. Additionally, from an environmental perspective, the electrolyte in Li-ion batteries is flammable. If Li-ion batteries are burned, toxic HF could be released into the environment. Existing recycling techiques aimed at Li-ion batteries are either cost-prohibitive or unable to accommodate the ever-changing Li-ion battery chemistries. Employing a combination of improved Li-ion extractive metallurgy and sensor-based sorting technologies, the proposed collaboration between WPI and wTe will enable the development and commercialization of a novel recycling process that will address these limitations, the growing demand for critical materials, help mitigate environmental risks, and secure strategic national interests.

PFI：空气技术翻译项目着重于翻译基本的回收技术，以解决现有的锂离子电池回收过程中的空白。与现有的水透明术或射态铝回收技术相比，翻译后的回收技术表现出较低的成本和更高的效率。该项目通过从支出的锂离子电池中恢复阴极材料并生产新的阴极材料来实现其目标，无论锂离子电池阴极化学如何。此外，该项目将使用基于传感器的排序技术恢复铜电流收集器，该技术与拟议的HydromeTallotalurgical Recovery Process相结合，将导致用于具有变化化学的锂离子电池的闭环工业回收工艺。该合作伙伴关系与WTE Corporation互动，为感测技术提供指导，以提取含铜材料。 WTE还将协助解决营销，融资和商业化问题，以将拟议的锂离子电池回收过程转化为竞争性的商业现实。随着消费者对混合动力汽车，电动汽车，便携式电子设备和网格系统的需求不断增长，使用锂离子电池的使用正在增加，并且预计将来只会上升。由于最大的LI储备存在于政治上不稳定或不合作的国家中，因此对这些关键资源的需求是国家战略重要性的问题。此外，从环境角度来看，锂离子电池中的电解质是易燃的。如果燃烧锂离子电池，则可以将有毒的HF释放到环境中。针对锂离子电池的现有回收技术要么是成本良好的，要么无法容纳不断变化的锂离子电池化学。 WPI和WTE之间的拟议合作结合了改进的锂离子提取性冶金和基于传感器的分类技术，将使新型回收过程的开发和商业化能够解决这些限制，对关键材料的不断增长的需求，帮助减轻环境风险以及确保国家的国家利益。