Inspired by the process of “metallurgy first and then beneficiation” for disposing low-grade and complex mineral resources, we proposed a breakthrough method to recover valuable metals from spent entire lithium-ion batteries that experienced only discharge and simple cut, removing the pre-sorting process, which is an inevitable but problematic process in the commonly used hydrometallurgical method. Reduction roasting was first conducted to directly treat spent entire LIBs, and the cathode materials are dissociated and transformed to simple substances. Moreover, the harmful electrolytes, binder and membrane are decomposed into the gas, and can be disposed by the well-established, widely used technology. Over 81% of Li can be preferentially extracted from the roasted products by carbonation water leaching. In addition, more than 95% of Ni, Co and Cu can be leached by additional oxidation ammonia leaching, while Mn in the ammonia leaching residue can be recovered via beneficiation process. Finally, the ammonia solution can be reused after the recovery of valuable metals. Overall, this new recycling method with advantages of high metal recovery efficiency, easily accessible equipment and environmental friendliness can meet the requirements of green chemistry, and has great potential in industrial production.

中文翻译：

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一种无需预分拣的废旧锂离子电池回收利用的突破性方法

受“先冶炼后选矿”处理低品位复杂矿产的过程启发，我们提出了一种突破性的方法，从只经历放电和简单切割的废旧锂离子电池中回收有价金属，去除预分选过程，这是常用湿法冶金方法中不可避免但存在问题的过程。首先进行还原焙烧以直接处理废弃的整个 LIB，并将正极材料解离并转化为简单物质。此外，有害的电解质、粘合剂和膜被分解成气体，可以通过成熟、广泛使用的技术进行处理。通过碳酸水浸出可以优先从焙烧产品中提取超过 81% 的锂。此外，95%以上的Ni，通过选矿过程。最后，氨溶液可在回收有价金属后重复使用。总体而言，这种新的回收方法具有金属回收效率高、设备易得、环境友好等优点，能够满足绿色化学的要求，在工业生产方面具有很大的潜力。