Issue 17, 2024

Recycling primary lithium batteries using a coordination chemistry approach: recovery of lithium and manganese residues in the form of industrially important materials

Abstract

In this study, we have investigated the potential use of post-consumer primary lithium metal batteries (LMBs) commonly used in portable electronic devices to recover lithium and manganese in the form of industrially important materials. A direct reaction of lithium-containing electronic waste with a naturally sourced ester, methyl salicylate, combined with a wide range of aliphatic alcohols has been used as a general method for recovering lithium in the form of lithium aryloxides of different nuclearities [Li(OAr)(HOMe)2] (1), [Li(OAr)(HOAr)] (2), [Li(OAr)(HOEt)]2 (3), [Li(OAr)(H2O)]2 (4), [Li4(OAr)4(EGME)2] (5), [Li6(OAr)6] (6–8) for ArOH = methyl salicylate (1, 2, 4, 6), ethyl salicylate (3, 7), 2-methoxyethyl salicylate (5, 8), and EGME = 2-methoxyethanol. The hydrolysis of 7 was then used to synthesize lithium salicylate [Li(Sal)(H2O)]n (10), which is an important antioxidant in the production of oils and grease. The discharged cathode material of Li–MnO2 batteries was investigated as a source from which LiClO4, Li2CO3, LiMn2O4, and Mn2O3 can be recovered by means of water–alcohol extraction or calcination. Particular emphasis was placed on the detailed characterization of all battery components and their decomposition products. LMBs were completely recycled for the first time, and materials were recovered from the cathode and the anode.

Graphical abstract: Recycling primary lithium batteries using a coordination chemistry approach: recovery of lithium and manganese residues in the form of industrially important materials

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
03 Mar 2024
Accepted
26 Mar 2024
First published
26 Mar 2024

Dalton Trans., 2024,53, 7450-7469

Recycling primary lithium batteries using a coordination chemistry approach: recovery of lithium and manganese residues in the form of industrially important materials

R. Petrus, A. Kowaliński and T. Lis, Dalton Trans., 2024, 53, 7450 DOI: 10.1039/D4DT00648H

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements