International Journal of Waste Resources

Closing the lithium-ion battery life cycle

4^th World Congress and Expo on Recycling

July 27-29, 2017 | Rome, Italy

Linda Gaines

Argonne National Laboratory, USA

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: Int J Waste Resour

Abstract:

Electric drive vehicle sales are growing worldwide. The key component in these vehicles is the lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery. While it is possible to extend the life of Li-ion batteries in applications such as grid storage, eventually they reach their end-of-life (EOL) and are available for recycling. The reason behind recycling these batteries include: to reduce net energy requirements; to reduce environmental impacts; to reduce potential supply constraints by replacing extracted materials with recovered materials; to generate cost-offsetting revenues and; to comply with government mandates for EOL battery recycling. To identify the potential impacts of the growing market for automotive lithium-ion batteries, Argonne researchers are examining the material demand and recycling issues related to lithium-ion batteries. Research includes: estimating material demand and comparing to world supplies; conducting studies to identify the greenest, most economical recycling processes; investigating recycling practices to determine how much of which materials could be recovered with current or improved methods, and; quantifying the environmental impacts of both battery production and recycling processes through life-cycle analyses using Argonne's GREET model. Researchers leverage Argonne's Bat Pac model to determine the material quantities and compositions needed to perform demand studies and life-cycle analyses on different lithium-ion battery chemistries. Although there are many challenges to successful recycling of lithium-ion batteries, we are confident that the research we are pursuing will be instrumental in overcoming them.

Biography :

Email: lgaines@anl.gov