Preferential Recovery of Lithium Based on Mineral Phase Reconstruction from Spent Lithium-Ion Batteries

The recovery efficiency of lithium (Li) is low from spent lithium-ion battery in hydrometallurgical recycling because it is recovered in the final procedure. To improve its efficiency, we propose to add thioacetamide in the process of heating separation of cathode active material and Al foil, and the mineral phase of active material has been reconstructed. Li is preferentially recovered by leaching with sodium carbonate solution. The recovery efficiency of Li has been greatly improved. The influence of roasting and leaching conditions was investigated. The results suggest active material has been well separated from Al foil, and the leaching efficiency of Li reaches 97.00% under optimal conditions. The leaching efficiency of Ni, Co and Mn leached by HNO 3 can reach 99.0%. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) reveal the chemical valence of Co and Mn changes and that of Ni remains unchanged in the heating separation.