Charged EVs | Researchers demonstrate selective recovery of lithium from spent lithium iron phosphate batteries

A staff from the Beijing College of Chemical Expertise has used a formic acid-hydrogen peroxide system for selective leaching of lithium ions from spent lithium iron phosphate batteries. A paper on their course of was revealed within the Journal of Energy Sources.

The staff achieved optimum leaching circumstances by single-factor optimization: formic acid focus of 0.8 mol/L, strong–liquid ratio of fifty g/L, preliminary hydrogen peroxide quantity fraction of 8%, temperature of 60° C, and a response time of 1 hour. Beneath these circumstances, the extent of lithium leaching reaches 99.9%, whereas iron leaching is barely 0.05%. 

The optimum leaching circumstances had been verified by multi-factor response floor experiments and the outcomes obtained by the 2 strategies had been comparable. The first precipitation extent and purity of the lithium product achieved 85.05% and 99.9%, respectively, utilizing sodium carbonate precipitation to get well lithium ions from the leach filtrate.

“On this examine, formic acid, an natural acid that’s much less acidic, inexperienced, simply decomposed and fewer polluting than inorganic acids, was used because the leaching agent and hydrogen peroxide was used because the oxidizing agent. The proposed restoration expertise has the benefits of easy, quick course of, good efficiency, excessive lithium focus in leaching answer with virtually no iron ion and excessive purity of lithium carbonate,” the authors wrote.

Supply: Green Car Congress