A critical review of current technologies for the liberation of electrode materials from foils in the recycling process of spent lithium-ion batteries

Proper disposal of spent lithium-ion batteries is beneficial for the resource recycling and pollution elimination. Full liberation of electrode materials, including the liberation between electrode material and current collector (copper/aluminum foils) and the liberation among electrode material particles, is the pivotal precondition for improving the recovery efficiency of electrode materials. In this article, authors attempt to carry out a summary of current technologies used in the liberation of electrode materials derived from spent lithium-ion batteries. However, specialized studies about the liberation of electrode materials are insufficient at present. This research clearly shows that: (1) Organic binder must be removed so as to improve the liberation and metallurgy efficiency of electrode materials; (2) A collaboration of varied technologies is the necessary process to achieve high liberation efficiency between electrode materials and copper/aluminum foils: (3) Pyrolysis may be a recommended technology for removal of organic binder because part of pyrolysis products can be recovered. Finally, an alternative recycling flowchart of spent LIBs is proposed. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.