| Abstract Scope |
Effective mechanical treatment of end-of-life lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) to recover a high yield of enriched active electrode materials (i.e., lithium metal oxide and graphite) is key to achieve a robust LIB recycling process. In this study, shredding and sieving were performed on LIB packs of three cell types (prismatic, cylindrical and pouch cells) to investigate the separation and liberation of LIB components. The result demonstrated that a significant portion of lithium metal oxide remained unliberated from the aluminum foil after shredding. Of the physical liberation methods investigated, it was shown that attrition milling of shredded LIB packs effectively separated LIB components, and enriched active materials, metal foils and low value components into <500 μm, 500 μm - 2 mm and >2 mm fractions, respectively. A combination of shredding, sieving and attrition milling demonstrates to be a promising mechanical/physical method for the liberation and beneficiation of LIB components. |