What are the challenges of the lithium-ion battery recycling industry

Recycling and processing of resources usually face a series of unique challenges and must adapt to economic and technological developments. These resources are usually widely distributed, so it is difficult to collect large amounts of raw materials for their processing and recycling plants. In contrast, although the collection and recycling supply chains of some industries such as lead-acid battery recycling have been constructed and become increasingly mature, the lithium-ion battery recycling supply chain is still changing and developing. Recyclers can classify lithium-ion batteries into portable, small-size and large-size when recycling, corresponding to the voltage of lithium-ion batteries (low voltage, medium voltage, and high voltage). Each type of lithium-ion battery has different stakeholder groups such as manufacturers, distributors, electronics recyclers, and vehicle recyclers. There are also some stakeholder groups in the energy storage field: battery suppliers, energy storage integrators, energy storage project developers, and energy storage asset owners. Managing the inherent heterogeneity of lithium-ion batteries through a wide range of stakeholders is an important challenge faced by manufacturers in the lithium resource recycling industry. 2. Transportation and regulations Lithium-ion batteries are currently classified as Category 9 dangerous goods due to their chemical and electrical risks. Lithium-ion batteries have the disadvantage of thermal runaway, which is usually caused by an internal short circuit that causes fire or explosion. There are many factors that can cause thermal runaway of lithium-ion batteries, including overcharging, harsh environmental conditions (such as extreme external temperatures), and manufacturing defects. When thermal runaway occurs, lithium-ion batteries usually rise from room temperature to over 700°C within a few seconds. As part of the complex chemical reaction, the electrolyte solvent (usually alkyl carbonate) in lithium-ion batteries is an important fuel for battery combustion. When handling severely damaged or defective lithium-ion batteries, extreme care must be taken, as this will increase the risk of thermal runaway. Usually, special containers (for example, GeniusTechnology's LionGuard container for medium to high voltage lithium-ion batteries) are used in conjunction with non-flammable packaging materials to safely transport these batteries. As the overall number of lithium-ion batteries increases, the number of lithium-ion batteries that are damaged or defective in various applications also increases. Nowadays, the lithium-ion battery resource recycling industry is becoming more mature, but the relevant laws and regulations of countries around the world are very different. With the publication of new industries and research reports, these regulations may also undergo major changes every year. Therefore, in the process of development and recycling of lithium-ion batteries, manufacturers must closely follow changes in relevant regulations (including logistics). 3. Safety and storage The challenges of transportation and regulatory changes usually revolve around a key factor: safety. For manufacturers who handle, transport, store, and produce lithium-ion batteries, safety is of the utmost importance. Because lithium-ion batteries have the risk of thermal runaway, this poses unique challenges to the handling and transportation of lithium-ion batteries. Specifically, the safest way is to use as few lithium-ion batteries as possible on site to reduce the risk of thermal runaway events. However, this is in contradiction with the requirement to ensure that a large number of waste lithium-ion batteries are used for production and disposal purposes. The current discarded lithium-ion batteries (portable/small batteries) usually come from mobile phones, laptops and other consumer products), which complicates the development of safe storage. Discarded portable lithium-ion batteries are often mixed with other types of batteries. During the initial inspection, the staff did not know the state of the collected batteries (whether they were intact or not), and they would usually only know it when they were sorted or disposed of. Regarding the lithium-ion battery in the energy storage system, it is necessary to strictly implement the agreement on the tray/rack spacing, storage density, and the use of fire extinguishing systems in the storage space to reduce the risks related to thermal runaway and fire of the lithium-ion battery. Disclaimer: Some pictures and content of the articles published on this site are from the Internet. If there is any infringement, please contact to delete. Previous: How to recycle used lithium-ion batteries