Recovery of lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide cathode material from battery scrap waste via sol-gel method

Abstract

A recycle process of NCA cathode scrap from lithium-ion batteries has been carried out. Nitric acid (HNO3) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) were used as leaching agents and reducing agents, respectively. The leaching process was carried out with a 1.5 M nitric acid (HNO3) solution, a solid to liquid ratio (S / L) of 100 g / L and a temperature of 80°C. The reducing agent concentration and the effect of the leaching time were investigated. Sol-gel and sintering processes were aimed to recover NCA material and reuse it for manufacturing lithium-ion batteries. The results showed that the highest leaching efficiency was at a reducing concentration of 3% w / v for 3 hours. Dry samples were characterized using SEM, XRD, and FTIR. Based on SEM results, the surface morphological analysis of recycled NCA cathode scrap was successfully obtained. As obtained NCA XRD patterns were well indexed according to JCPDS Card # 87-1562. The electrochemical performance or charge-discharge capacity measurement was analyzed in an 18650-type cell and graphite was selected as the anode. The specific capacity of the material obtained from this study is 90 mAh / g.