Graphite recycling

Example

See it in the plant

1. Charge: 13.18 t of black mass goes into the tank with 17.95 t of sulfuric acid and 1759 kg of hydrogen peroxide, 1.2× the stoichiometric floor.
2. Dissolve: stirred and heated, the metals go into solution (2 LiMO₂ + 3 H₂SO₄ + H₂O₂ → Li₂SO₄ + 2 MSO₄ + 4 H₂O + O₂). 98% of the nickel, 98% of the cobalt, 98% of the manganese, 99% of the lithium dissolves.
3. Filter: what does not dissolve stays on the cloth: 6037 kg of residue, mostly graphite and carbon. The liquid, 6331 kg of leach solution, goes on to purification.
4. Vent: 810 kg of gas leaves the tank, oxygen from the peroxide and vapour, to the scrubber.

Use in Lemonergy

Distinguish recovered material from a qualified product.

This is a reference concept. No executable Lemonergy block has been verified for this term.

Connected concepts

Related concepts from the knowledge graph. Connections show context, not cause and effect. Hover or focus a linked term for its definition.

Black mass

The dark powder of mixed electrode materials left after end-of-life cells are discharged, shredded and separated from their casings, foils and separators. It is the traded intermediate that hydrometallurgical refiners buy.

Critical raw materials

Materials that an economy depends on and whose supply is concentrated or at risk: for batteries, lithium, cobalt, nickel, natural graphite and manganese. The EU and US both list them and attach sourcing and recycling targets.

Froth flotation

Separating graphite from the oxide particles in black mass by making the water-repellent graphite cling to air bubbles that carry it into a froth. It lets graphite be recovered rather than burned, and leaves cleaner metal oxides for leaching.

Graphite

Layered carbon, the negative active material of nearly all lithium-ion cells. Lithium intercalates between its layers up to LiC₆, a theoretical 372 mAh/g, at a potential about 0.1 V above lithium metal.

References & further reading

Technical references

1. Recycling lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles

   Gavin Harper et al. · Nature · 2019

   Technical reference · Reuse, disassembly and mechanical, hydro-, pyro- and direct recycling routes.

Further reading on this topic

These sources provide broader context; they are not presented as citations for every statement in this entry.

2. Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling

   U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

   Topic background · Battery construction, recycling routes and U.S. waste-management context.