Emerging green recycling technologies for spent lithium-ion batteries: a comprehensive review integrating and innovating traditional methods

Abstract

The rapid expansion of the electric vehicle industry has driven an unprecedented surge in the demand for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), leading to the continuous accumulation of spent LIBs.Efficient recycling of these batteries is essential to alleviate shortages of critical metals and mitigate environmental risks. Despite their industrial maturity, conventional recycling methods-physical separation, pyrometallurgy, and hydrometallurgy-suffer from inherent limitations, necessitating the pursuit of innovative recycling technologies that deliver superior efficiency and sustainability.This review provides a comprehensive overview of both traditional and emerging strategies, focusing on three representative approaches: emerging hydrometallurgical extraction technologies, combined pyro-and hydrometallurgical recycling technology, and electrochemical recycling technology. The mechanisms, advantages, and limitations of each process are systematically analyzed, with particular emphasis on the integration and innovation between traditional and emerging methods. The synergistic coupling of these techniques can enhance metal recovery efficiency, reduce environmental burdens, and improve economic feasibility, thus advancing the sustainable closed-loop recycling of spent LIBs. Finally, life cycle assessment (LCA) and technoeconomic analysis (TEA) are employed to compare conventional and representative emerging technologies, offering strategic insights into the future development pathways for next-generation spent LIBs recycling.