Abstract: A method of producing a cathode material precursor having low levels of Cu impurities is described. Heat treating a black mass from a recycled lithium-ion battery stream, wherein the black mass comprises copper metal and cathode material comprising nickel, followed by leaching of the heat-treated black mass with an aqueous acid forms an acidic aqueous leach solution comprising nickel metal, cathode metal salts, and copper salts. The copper salts have been found to react with the nickel metal in the aqueous leach solution to form copper metal, which can be readily removed from the acidic aqueous leach solution. Coprecipitation of the cathode metal salts and the nickel salts form nearly Cu-free cathode material precursor.

Abstract: A recycling process for cathode material of a Li-ion battery generates highly pure cathode material precursor from a leaching process using either heat treatment or an oxidizing agent. The highly pure cathode material includes cathode material metallic elements of Ni, Mn and Co, leached from a granular recycling stream of waste batteries, by a coprecipitation process that defines a molar ratio of the cathode material metals corresponding to a prescribed battery chemistry. The result is a precursor cathode active material (pCAM) in a form that may be sintered with lithium (typically lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide) to form the cathode active material for the recycled battery, including the charge material metals in the prescribed ratio.

Abstract: Recycling of lithium-ion batteries includes the steps of leaching a black mass including cathode and anode materials with a leaching agent, optionally including an oxidizing agent or reducing agent, to form an aqueous acidic leach solution of metal salts comprising metal salts and a plurality of impurity salts. The impurity salts are removed in various purification phases including treating with an oxygen-containing gas and optional electrodeposition and ion exchange steps, each at specified pH ranges. The amounts of the metal salts in the treated aqueous acidic leach solution are then adjusted to a desired ratio and coprecipitated to form a precursor cathode active material.

Abstract: In a battery recycling process, a recycling stream including charge material metals from exhausted Li-ion batteries is aggregated or otherwise comminuted to generate recycled battery charge material having comparable or improved cycle life as well as recycled charge material precursor having fewer cracking defects using doping substances in both a coprecipitation phase and a sintering phase of the recycling sequence. Prior to coprecipitation of a cathode material precursor, a leach solution of comingled charge material metals is produced, the ratio of the charge material metals is adjusted based on recycled battery specifications, and a relatively small quantity of a first dopant is added. The doped precursor, a lithium salt, and a second dopant are combined and sintered to form a doped cathode material having a single crystal morphology and a higher tap density than the doped cathode precursor.

Abstract: A Li-ion cathode material is prepared by a multi-stage lithiation process that separates a total amount of lithium called for by the recycled battery to be used in a series of sintering stages. A leaching, ratio adjustment and coprecipitation sequence forms a cathode precursor having a predetermined ratio of metallic elements from a comingled recycling stream of Li-ion batteries. The precursor is sintered with a lithium salt in a sequence of stages, each having a portion of the total lithium quantity, for a predetermined duration and temperature. The initial sintering stage tends to define the crystallinity of the resulting active cathode material and has a particle size determined at least in part by the portion of lithium at each stage.

Abstract: A curing process for cathode material alleviates surface defects on particles of the cathode material for improving battery performance. Heat treating a granular form of the cathode material in a flow of an oxygen-containing gas removes surface defects on the cathode material particles that have been mechanically deagglomerated. This results in significant improvement in both the rate of charge/discharge and the number of recharge cycles.

Abstract: Cathode material from exhausted lithium ion batteries are dissolved in a solution for extracting the useful elements Co (cobalt), Ni (nickel), Al (Aluminum) and Mn (manganese) to produce active cathode materials for new batteries. The solution includes compounds of desirable materials such as cobalt, nickel, aluminum and manganese dissolved as compounds from the exhausted cathode material of spent cells. Depending on a desired proportion, or ratio, of the desired materials, raw materials are added to the solution to achieve the desired ratio of the commingled compounds for the recycled cathode material for new cells. The desired materials precipitate out of solution without extensive heating or separation of the desired materials into individual compounds or elements. The resulting active cathode material has the predetermined ratio for use in new cells, and avoids high heat typically required to separate the useful elements because the desired materials remain commingled in solution.

Abstract: A battery recycling process recovers lithium from nickel-rich cathode material in a recycling stream of end-of-life batteries. A dilute acid leach of a high nickel content cathode material contains a mixture of sulfuric acid based on a molar quantity of lithium in the cathode material. The highly selective leach generates a lithium rich solution with a small amount of nickel removable by nanofiltration to achieve a highly efficient recovery of the lithium contained in the recycling stream. A quantity of the leach acid based on the lithium content and a quantity of water based on a total black mass of the recycling stream results in a highly selective, near pure lithium leach when the recycling stream results from high nickel NMC batteries such as 811.

Abstract: A battery recycling process aggregates a recycling stream including charge material metals from exhausted Li-ion batteries and generates recycled battery charge material having comparable or improved cycle life as well as recycled charge material precursor having fewer cracking defects using doping substances in a coprecipitation phase in the recycling sequence. In a coprecipitation process, a solution of comingled charge material metals is produced, the ratio of the charge material metals is adjusted based on recycled battery specifications, and a relatively small quantity of a doping salt is added.

Abstract: A battery recycling process aggregates a recycling stream including charge material metals from exhausted Li-ion batteries and generates recycled battery charge material having comparable or improved cycle life as well as recycled charge material precursor having fewer cracking defects using doping substances in a coprecipitation phase in the recycling sequence. In a coprecipitation process, a solution of comingled charge material metals is produced, the ratio of the charge material metals is adjusted based on recycled battery specifications, and a relatively small quantity of a doping salt is added.

Abstract: A recycling method for generating purified lithium salts from a recycling stream of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries includes leaching black mass from the recycling stream in an aqueous solution of an oxidizing agent. Delithiated black mass is filtered from the aqueous solution to generate a Li-rich leach solution, which is subjected to nanofiltration to form a nanofiltration permeate from which the purified lithium salt is obtained.

Abstract: A recycling process for Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries includes a selective leach of charge material metals followed by impurity control for effecting microstructures such as a pore volume and surface area for optimal structures and charge performance. Particle characteristics having a favorable effect on performance correlate with soluble impurities in a recycling leach solution formed from spent charge material in a battery recycling stream. Spent batteries yield a black mass of agitated, comingled cathode material, anode material and current collectors. Leaching of the black mass yields a recycling solution of charge material metals and impurities. Selective adjustment of these impurities through adding and/or separating soluble ions in the solution drives formation of internal voids, surface area and pore volume in the resulting cathode material.

Abstract: A method of producing a purified graphite from a recycled battery stream for use in as anode material in Li-ion batteries is described. The method comprises a leaching step to obtain a precipitate comprising graphite by filtration, which is then iteratively roasted as a slurry with an aqueous solution of a hydroxide base and subsequently washed to form a purified graphite.

Abstract: Cathode material from exhausted lithium ion batteries are dissolved in a solution for extracting the useful elements Co (cobalt), Ni (nickel), Al (Aluminum) and Mn (manganese) to produce active cathode materials for new batteries. The solution includes compounds of desirable materials such as cobalt, nickel, aluminum and manganese dissolved as compounds from the exhausted cathode material of spent cells. Depending on a desired proportion, or ratio, of the desired materials, raw materials are added to the solution to achieve the desired ratio of the commingled compounds for the recycled cathode material for new cells. The desired materials precipitate out of solution without extensive heating or separation of the desired materials into individual compounds or elements. The resulting active cathode material has the predetermined ratio for use in new cells, and avoids high heat typically required to separate the useful elements because the desired materials remain commingled in solution.

Abstract: The inventions described herein provide methods and systems for recycling lithium iron phosphate batteries, including: adding an oxidizing agent to a recycling stream of lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries to form a leach solution; filtering the leach solution to remove a residue and obtain a lithium rich solution; modifying pH of the lithium rich solution for filtering impurities and obtaining a purified Li solution; and adding a precipitant to the purified Li solution thereby precipitating a lithium compound.

Abstract: A battery recycling process recovers lithium from nickel-rich cathode material in a recycling stream of end-of-life batteries. A dilute acid leach of a high nickel content cathode material contains a mixture of sulfuric acid based on a molar quantity of lithium in the cathode material. The highly selective leach generates a lithium rich solution with a small amount of nickel removable by nanofiltration to achieve a highly efficient recovery of the lithium contained in the recycling stream. A quantity of the leach acid based on the lithium content and a quantity of water based on a total black mass of the recycling stream results in a highly selective, near pure lithium leach when the recycling stream results from high nickel NMC batteries such as 811.

Abstract: Recycling of charge material for an NMC (Ni, Mn, Co) battery recovers lithium from a recycled battery stream by roasting a black mass from the recycled stream in a partial oxygen environment at a temperature based on the thermal reduction of cathode material and reacting carbon in an anode material with lithium in the cathode material, and then leaching the lithium from the roasted black mass for forming a lithium leach solution. Lithium is recovered by heating the lithium leach solution, precipitating the lithium carbonate based on decreased solubility of the leached lithium carbonate at the increased temperature.

Abstract: Cathode material from exhausted lithium ion batteries are dissolved in a solution for extracting the useful elements Co (cobalt), Ni (nickel), Al (Aluminum) and Mn (manganese) to produce active cathode materials for new batteries. The solution includes compounds of desirable materials such as cobalt, nickel, aluminum and manganese dissolved as compounds from the exhausted cathode material of spent cells. Depending on a desired proportion, or ratio, of the desired materials, raw materials are added to the solution to achieve the desired ratio of the commingled compounds for the recycled cathode material for new cells. The desired materials precipitate out of solution without extensive heating or separation of the desired materials into individual compounds or elements. The resulting active cathode material has the predetermined ratio for use in new cells, and avoids high heat typically required to separate the useful elements because the desired materials remain commingled in solution.

Abstract: A battery recycling process recovers lithium from nickel-rich cathode material in a recycling stream of end-of-life batteries. A dilute acid leach of a high nickel content cathode material contains a mixture of sulfuric acid based on a molar quantity of lithium in the cathode material. The highly selective leach generates a lithium rich solution with a small amount of nickel removable by nanofiltration to achieve a highly efficient recovery of the lithium contained in the recycling stream. A quantity of the leach acid based on the lithium content and a quantity of water based on a total black mass of the recycling stream results in a highly selective, near pure lithium leach when the recycling stream results from high nickel NMC batteries such as 811.

Abstract: A recycling and synthesis of charge material for secondary batteries generates single-crystal charge materials for producing batteries with greater charge cycle longevity. Charge material particles undergo a heating for fusing or enhancing grain boundaries between polycrystalline particles. The resulting, more well-defined grain boundaries are easily etched by a relatively weak mineral acid solution. The acid solution removes material at the grain boundaries to separate secondary particles into primary particles along the grain boundaries. The resulting single crystal (monocrystalline) charge material particles are washed and filtered, and typically re-sintered to accommodate any needed lithium (lithium carbonate), and result in a charge material with larger surface area, higher lithium diffusivity and lower cation ordering.