Canberra, lithium-ion batteries are part of everyday life. They provide power to small rechargeable devices such as mobile phones and laptops. Enable electric vehicles. The larger version stores excess renewable energy for later use and supports the transition of clean energy.
Australia produces more than 3,000 tons of lithium-ion battery waste per year. Managing this waste is a technical, economic and social challenge. There is an opportunity to recycle and create a circular economy of battery. But they do have risks.
This is because lithium-ion batteries contain manufactured chemicals such as PFA, or because they contain polyfluoroalkyl substances. Chemicals carry lithium from the battery along with electricity. If released into the environment, they could last for decades. This is why they were called “eternal chemicals.”
Recently, scientists have identified a new type of PFA known as BIS-fasis in lithium-ion batteries and environments. Bis-fasis has since been detected in soils and waters around the world. They are toxic – one drop in an Olympic-sized swimming pool can harm the animal’s nervous system. Scientists still don’t know much about the potential impact on humans.
Bisphsis in lithium-ion batteries poses a major obstacle to battery recycling or disposal safely. Fortunately, you may have come up with a way to fix this.
Battery waste is valuable
Currently, Australia only recycles about 10% of battery waste. The rest will be sent to the landfill.
However, landfills can eventually leak. This means that disposing of battery waste in landfills can lead to soil and groundwater contamination.
We cannot throw away lithium-ion batteries in household trash because they can set fire.
Therefore, once the batteries reach the end of their service life, they must be treated in a way that protects the environment and human health.
Plus, battery waste has real value. Lithium-ion batteries contain a lot of precious metals worth recycling. Lithium, cobalt, copper and nickel are important, finite metal resources in high demand. The recoverable metal values from one tonne of lithium-ion battery waste range from USD 3,000 to USD 14,000.
What does this mean for battery recycling?
Battery recycling in Australia begins with collection, sorting, discharge and dismantling before metal is collected.
Metal recovery can be done via mechanical, high temperature, chemical or biological methods. However, this could accidentally release the spurt and threaten recycle workers and the environment.
Pyrometal gallies are the most common technique for recycling lithium-ion batteries. This includes incinerating the batteries to recover the metal. The BIS-fasis is incinerated at the same time.
However, PFAS chemicals are stable and can withstand high temperatures. The exact temperature required to destroy the PFA is the largest unknown in recycling of lithium-ion batteries.
Determining this temperature was the focus of our study.
The solution is hot – it’s very hot!
I worked with Anthony Lappe, a professor of chemistry at Colorado State University, USA. We wanted to solve the temperature at which BIS-fasis can be effectively incinerated.
But understanding this is not only difficult to work at high temperatures.
The inside of the incinerator is hot and messy. The molecules are torn apart. Some recombine to form large molecules, while others interact with the ashes produced during the combustion process. This can produce new toxic substances that can be released into the air outside through smoking.
Worse, it is impossible to measure all the substances that bisphsis collapses because many substances are unknown.
To help, I applied the science of quantum mechanics and solved problems on a computer without entering the lab. Computers can accurately simulate the behavior of molecules, including BIS-Fasis.
At 600°C, we found that the BIS-FASI molecules began to separate into smaller fragments. However, these fragments are still PFAS chemicals and can be more harmful than the parent chemicals.
As a result, the lack of screw psis in the stack exhaust is not sufficient to determine the process as safe. To break down BIS-fasis into completely harmless products, a much higher temperature of 1,000°C or higher is required. This may be much higher than the temperatures currently in use, but will vary between facilities.
Based on these findings, we have built an innovative model that guides recyclers how to use sufficiently high temperatures to destroy screw-phsis during metal recovery.
How can I avoid future risks?
Currently, we are working with operators at high temperature metal recovery and incineration plants to use models to destroy the PFAs in the battery.
Recycling plants need to use much higher temperatures to avoid problematic smoke, which will require more energy and financial investments.
After the new guidance is implemented, the recovered metals, solid residues, and exhaust are tested to ensure that there is no PFA.
Although we can tackle the PFAS issue, it remains an expensive initiative. You need to upgrade the metal recovery process to safely destroy BIS-Fasis. Ultimately, consumers could step into the bill.
However, sending lithium-ion battery waste to landfills will damage the environment and make it even more expensive in the long run. Therefore, landfilling of BIS-FASI-containing waste should be avoided.
Obviously, the battery recycling speed needs to be improved. This is a place where everyday people can help. In the future, manufacturers should avoid using chemicals entirely in their batteries forever. Development of safer alternatives is a key focus of ongoing research into sustainable battery design. py py
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without any text changes.
