Abstract The ever increasing demand, the short life span of lithium-ion battery (LIBs), the presence of critical metals, and environmental considerations make recycling inevitable. A short duration, cost-effective recycling process for discarded mixed cathode material, and microwave reduction of cathode materials using recovered graphite are investigated. In this work, cathode materials of discarded LIBs are treated in the microwave for recovery of metallic values. Cathode and anode sheets of spent batteries were pulverized, sieved separately, and the active cathode material was reduced in the microwave at different times, graphite dosage, and microwave power. The microwave response of cathode material and reductants (graphite and charcoal) is investigated. A comparative analysis of microwave reduction of pure (LiCoO2) and mixed (LiCoO2, LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4, LiMn2O4) cathode materials was carried out using both graphite and activated charcoal. The final product comprises Co: 71.6%, Mn: 8.5%, Ni: 6.3%, O: 13.6% with saturation magnetization of 91 emu/g, lithium extraction: 82% and process yield of 32%. The indigenous microwave carbothermal reduction based process is found to be successful, considering product quality and cost considerations.

中文翻译：

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混合废弃锂离子电池微波处理途径回收利用

摘要 不断增长的需求、锂离子电池 (LIB) 的短寿命、关键金属的存在以及环境因素使回收不可避免。研究了一种持续时间短、具有成本效益的废弃混合阴极材料回收工艺，以及使用回收石墨对阴极材料进行微波还原。在这项工作中，废弃锂离子电池的阴极材料在微波中进行处理以回收金属价值。将废电池的正极片和负极片分别粉碎、过筛，在不同时间、不同石墨用量和微波功率的微波中还原活性正极材料。研究了阴极材料和还原剂（石墨和木炭）的微波响应。纯 (LiCoO2) 和混合 (LiCoO2, LiNi0. 5Mn1.5O4、LiMn2O4) 正极材料使用石墨和活性炭进行。最终产品包括Co：71.6%，Mn：8.5%，Ni：6.3%，O：13.6%，饱和磁化强度91emu/g，锂提取率：82%，工艺收率32%。考虑到产品质量和成本考虑，发现基于本地微波碳热还原的工艺是成功的。