Georgia Tech inventors have developed both a method to recycle the hazardous metals of lithium ion batteries and a new series of compounds to replace lithium ion for batteries. To recycle the hazardous material, the inventors have developed a combined method to extract these materials from used lithium ion batteries in a way that has several advantages over current techniques. This invention consists of a chemical digestion method and a magnetic separation method to enable the recycling of the high value, hazardous materials from the batteries.
Once the used lithium ion batteries are recycled, they can be replaced with solid-state batteries. The inventors have created a new series of compounds to be used as solid-state electrolytes for solid-state batteries and ionic conductors for other electrochemical devices. These compounds are sulfide-based electrolytes and are easier to produce, are more tunable, and are more stable against moisture and air than other solid-state electrolytes. Batteries made using these compounds have the potential to increase energy density and offer greater safety than lithium ion batteries.
Recycling Method
- Low cost – low energy use compared to other methods
- Environmentally friendly – low emissions
- High purity – accurate separation of high value metals from other components
Solid-State Batteries
- Improved – increased safety and energy density
- Simple – synthesis is less complicated compared to other solid-state electrolytes
- Tunable – more precise control of synthesis
- Stable – chemically stable under ambient conditions
- Batteries
- Electric Vehicles
- Electronics
- Military
- Medical
Lithium ion batteries are widely used as the power source in many devices of different energy/power scales, ranging from high energy/high power applications. Despite their desirable power, lithium ion batteries contain high value metals which can become environmental hazards if land-filled. To handle the hazardous nature of these batteries, they need to either be recycled of replaced.