Speaker
Description
Due to human-induced climate change, the world is calling for a technological revolution centered on the decarbonization of industry and the energy transition. A key component of this effort is the ability to store energy from fluctuating renewable sources. Emerging technologies such as lithium-ion batteries and water electrolyzers for the hydrogen economy have a high demand for critical metals and minerals such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, rare earth elements, platinum group elements, or graphite. Sustaining these elements within a circular economy through efficient recycling will be a key challenge, particularly affecting the mechanical processing step.
In this work, we will present our latest findings on the recovery of graphite from graphite lumps and the separation of oxide minerals from submicron carbon black, a typical PGM-bearing catalyst for Proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer catalysts. The treatment of end-of-life lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) using froth flotation has recently gained attention as a way to separate valuable lithium transition metal oxide (LMO) and graphite particles from the so-called "black mass" mixture. For electrolyzer fine particle processing, the results of separation processes exploiting the hydrophobicity differences between materials used in both electrodes will be presented. These methods include selective agglomeration and the application of novel hydrophobic binders for liquid extraction of particles.
References
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| Keywords | Recycling, LIB, PEM electrolyzer, fine particle |
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