Metal extraction from commercial black mass of spent lithium-ion batteries using food-waste-derived lixiviants through a biological process

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) power most electronic devices, electric vehicles (EVs), and energy storage devices, and LIB waste is the most critical global problem in electronic waste management. However, recovering and reusing metals from discarded LIBs can reduce environmental risks and provide val...

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Main Authors: Roy, Joseph Jegan, Tang, Ernest Jun Jie, Cao, Bin, Srinivasan, Madhavi
Other Authors: School of Materials Science and Engineering
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/182467
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author Roy, Joseph Jegan
Tang, Ernest Jun Jie
Cao, Bin
Srinivasan, Madhavi
author2 School of Materials Science and Engineering
author_facet School of Materials Science and Engineering
Roy, Joseph Jegan
Tang, Ernest Jun Jie
Cao, Bin
Srinivasan, Madhavi
author_sort Roy, Joseph Jegan
collection NTU
description Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) power most electronic devices, electric vehicles (EVs), and energy storage devices, and LIB waste is the most critical global problem in electronic waste management. However, recovering and reusing metals from discarded LIBs can reduce environmental risks and provide valuable sources of metal for new batteries. Food waste is a global issue. Most food leftovers are discarded in landfills or incinerated, with a recycling rate of approximately 10-20%. Utilizing food waste to treat LIB waste is an innovative approach that can effectively reduce waste and promote a circular economy, leading to sustainable expansion. In this innovative and environmentally friendly study, we utilize a biocatalytic procedure to transform food waste into lixiviants and extract valuable metals such as Ni, Mn, Co, and Li from spent LIBs. This study also demonstrates that gluconic acid is the primary acid produced through the enzymatic conversion of food waste into lixiviants, a sustainable process that selectively forms metal chelates with valuable LIB metals. The food-waste-derived lixiviants could extract valuable metals from LCO- and NMC-based industrial black masses at a solid content of 50 g/L with a leaching efficiency of 80-99% confirmed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and ICP-OES studies of LIB black masses and their leaching residues have verified that nearly all metals have been extracted from the LIB black mass. This environmentally conscious approach can efficiently extract metals from exhausted EV batteries in the interest of sustainability.
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spelling ntu-10356/1824672025-02-04T01:48:22Z Metal extraction from commercial black mass of spent lithium-ion batteries using food-waste-derived lixiviants through a biological process Roy, Joseph Jegan Tang, Ernest Jun Jie Cao, Bin Srinivasan, Madhavi School of Materials Science and Engineering School of Civil and Environmental Engineering Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences and Engineering (SCELSE) Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERI@N) Engineering Enzyme Food waste Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) power most electronic devices, electric vehicles (EVs), and energy storage devices, and LIB waste is the most critical global problem in electronic waste management. However, recovering and reusing metals from discarded LIBs can reduce environmental risks and provide valuable sources of metal for new batteries. Food waste is a global issue. Most food leftovers are discarded in landfills or incinerated, with a recycling rate of approximately 10-20%. Utilizing food waste to treat LIB waste is an innovative approach that can effectively reduce waste and promote a circular economy, leading to sustainable expansion. In this innovative and environmentally friendly study, we utilize a biocatalytic procedure to transform food waste into lixiviants and extract valuable metals such as Ni, Mn, Co, and Li from spent LIBs. This study also demonstrates that gluconic acid is the primary acid produced through the enzymatic conversion of food waste into lixiviants, a sustainable process that selectively forms metal chelates with valuable LIB metals. The food-waste-derived lixiviants could extract valuable metals from LCO- and NMC-based industrial black masses at a solid content of 50 g/L with a leaching efficiency of 80-99% confirmed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and ICP-OES studies of LIB black masses and their leaching residues have verified that nearly all metals have been extracted from the LIB black mass. This environmentally conscious approach can efficiently extract metals from exhausted EV batteries in the interest of sustainability. National Environmental Agency (NEA) National Research Foundation (NRF) This research/project is supported by the National Research Foundation, Singapore, and National Environment Agency, Singapore, under its Closing the Waste Loop Funding Initiative (SCARCE Phase 2 Award CTRL-2023-1D-01). 2025-02-04T01:48:22Z 2025-02-04T01:48:22Z 2024 Journal Article Roy, J. J., Tang, E. J. J., Cao, B. & Srinivasan, M. (2024). Metal extraction from commercial black mass of spent lithium-ion batteries using food-waste-derived lixiviants through a biological process. ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, 12(45), 16564-16576. https://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.4c04317 2168-0485 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/182467 10.1021/acssuschemeng.4c04317 2-s2.0-85208365559 45 12 16564 16576 en CTRL-2023-1D-01 ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering © 2024 American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.
spellingShingle Engineering
Enzyme
Food waste
Roy, Joseph Jegan
Tang, Ernest Jun Jie
Cao, Bin
Srinivasan, Madhavi
Metal extraction from commercial black mass of spent lithium-ion batteries using food-waste-derived lixiviants through a biological process
title Metal extraction from commercial black mass of spent lithium-ion batteries using food-waste-derived lixiviants through a biological process
title_full Metal extraction from commercial black mass of spent lithium-ion batteries using food-waste-derived lixiviants through a biological process
title_fullStr Metal extraction from commercial black mass of spent lithium-ion batteries using food-waste-derived lixiviants through a biological process
title_full_unstemmed Metal extraction from commercial black mass of spent lithium-ion batteries using food-waste-derived lixiviants through a biological process
title_short Metal extraction from commercial black mass of spent lithium-ion batteries using food-waste-derived lixiviants through a biological process
title_sort metal extraction from commercial black mass of spent lithium ion batteries using food waste derived lixiviants through a biological process
topic Engineering
Enzyme
Food waste
url https://hdl.handle.net/10356/182467
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