Selective lithium recovery from spent LFP Li-ion batteries using organic acids

The increasing energy storage demand for electric vehicles and renewable energy technologies, as well as environmental regulations demanding the reutilizing of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The issue of depleting resources, particularly Li, is a major issue. To lessen the environmental risks brought on by the mining of metals and spent LIBs, efforts should be made in the field of recycling LIBs. To regain Li and FePO₄ from spent LiFePO₄ (LFP) LIBs, an organic acid-based leaching approach has been developed in this work. This investigation used organic acids, such as acetic acid and succinic acid, as the leaching agents. In comparison to another organic acid, succinic acid has the highest leaching efficiency and the best leaching effects on the reaction system when used with an oxidizing agent. The leaching conditions were optimized by varying the acid concentration, solid-to-liquid ratio, and the concentration of the oxidizing agent. Under the optimal condition of the 1.5 M succinic acid, 4 vol % H₂O₂, 15 g \(\bullet\) $\bullet$ L⁻¹ at 70 \(^\circ{\rm C}\) $_{}^{\circ }\mathrm{C}$ for 40 min Li and Al leaching efficiency is 98.7% and 95.3% respectively. However, the loss of Fe and P was only 6.5% and 4.3%, respectively. The lithium carbonate was recovered using leaching process. The suggested organic-based recycling strategy is environmentally benign and produces less secondary pollution for the environment as compare to conventional methods.