Waste Ternary Cathode Regeneration via Reducing Calcination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for recycling and regenerating waste ternary cathode materials from lithium-ion batteries are complex, generate hazardous waste, and require high-quality input materials, limiting their widespread adoption and economic viability.
Innovation Solution
A method involving drying, crushing, and sieving of waste ternary cathode materials, followed by reaction with an alkali liquid, mixing with carbonized pitch, and two-stage calcination to produce a regenerated ternary cathode material, simplifying the process and reducing waste treatment difficulties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If precipitation separation method or co-precipitation method is used to recover metals from waste cathode materials, then high purity products can be obtained, but the process becomes complex with many control parameters and generates hazardous waste liquids and gases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the harmful acid dissolution step from the traditional precipitation separation process. Instead of using inorganic or organic acids to dissolve the cathode material, the method directly processes the waste cathode material through calcination and mechanical activation, eliminating the generation of hazardous waste liquids and gases while simplifying the overall process flow
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the previously harmful acid dissolution step into a beneficial direct calcination process. By applying thermal energy and mechanical activation, the waste cathode material is directly transformed into recoverable metal oxides and valuable byproducts, turning the formerly harmful chemical dissolution into a clean thermal processing route that eliminates hazardous waste generation
2Ease of manufacture
If physical repair and regeneration method is used to directly mix lithium with waste ternary materials, then waste liquid treatment is avoided and recycling is quick, but the method requires high quality waste materials with minimal structural damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by using calcination temperature and atmosphere as control variables to transform the waste cathode material structure. By adjusting the calcination conditions (temperature, duration, atmosphere), the method can process waste materials with varying degrees of degradation, converting them into a uniform oxide state that is suitable for subsequent metal recovery, thereby reducing quality requirements for input materials
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary calcination and mechanical activation on the waste cathode material before metal recovery. This preliminary treatment breaks down the complex cathode structure, removes organic binders, and converts the material into a more reactive oxide form, making subsequent processing easier and expanding the range of acceptable input material qualities
3Reliability
If waste ternary cathode materials with micro-cracks and structural failure are processed by current methods, then material inactivation occurs, but physical repair methods cannot be applied without quality classification
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the waste cathode material into fine particles through mechanical activation and ball milling before calcination. This segmentation breaks down the damaged macrostructure into micro-particles, eliminating the impact of micro-cracks and structural failures on overall processing. The fine segmentation ensures uniform heating and reaction during calcination, allowing direct processing without quality classification
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses calcination temperature and atmosphere as parameters to transform the chemical state of the waste material. By controlling these parameters, the method converts various degraded forms of cathode material (with different degrees of micro-crack damage) into a consistent oxide state, making the electrochemical performance irrelevant and eliminating the need for quality classification based on structural integrity
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method effectively converts waste ternary materials into high-performance oxides, reducing impurities and enabling complete element recovery, resulting in a cost-effective and pollution-free recycling process with improved electrochemical performance.
Implementation Method 1
The wasted ternary material is converted to the oxides by weakly reducing reaction
Implementation Method 2
mixing with carbonized pitch, and performing reducing calcination to obtain a mixture of nickel oxide, manganese oxide, cobalt oxide, and lithium carbonate
Data Source
AI summary
The invention belongs to the technical field of battery material recycling and discloses a regeneration method of waste ternary cathode materials and application thereof. The regeneration method comprises the following steps: drying, crushing, and sieving a waste ternary cathode material to obtain a cathode powder; adding the cathode powder to a alkali liquid, reacting, stirring, washing, and filtering to obtain a filter residue; drying the filter residue, then mixing with carbonized pitch, and performing reducing calcination to obtain a mixture; after testing the content of nickel, cobalt, manganese, aluminum, and lithium in the mixture, adding a nickel source, a cobalt source, a lithium source, a manganese source, polyethylene glycol, ball milling with water to obtain a suspension; spray granulating the suspension to obtain a ternary precursor; subjecting the precursor to two-stage calcination to obtain a regenerated ternary cathode material.