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Tesla actually does a single/two step recycling process that incinerates/electrolytically separates the metals from the graphite/hydrocarbons/lithium. The lith

by hwillis 10y ago

Tesla actually does a single/two step recycling process that incinerates/electrolytically separates the metals from the graphite/hydrocarbons/lithium. The lithium containing fraction is sold as clinker or aggregate. Rocks, basically. Only the steel, nickel and cobalt are really recycled.

Robotbeat 10y ago
I'm talking about the newer process they're developing at the gigafactory. But you're right that lithium is so cheap at the moment (getting it from salty brines) that you don't really need to recycle it. The other metals, sure. But push comes to shove, you could pull it from ocean water. Won't ever be economically competitive with brines, but it's also not too expensive if that were the only option.
- hwillis 10y ago
  copying my other comment: >Lithium is one of the most prevalent elements on earth. Spodumene (rocky lithium ore) is likely to be a very important economic source in the future as it is much more common than the brine currently used to manufacture batteries. Brine requires a water pump to extract, spodumene requires mining like any normal mineral, but it's found in extremely high quality deposits in the US including single crystals up to 47 feet across. That means higher quality lithium in addition to greater availability. >Spodumene is ~6-7% lithium by mass and is mined in an open pit, so no worries about soil or water pollution. It's separated from other rocks by grinding, flotation, and then acid. Very few people like acid in their industrial processes but I will note that lithium production uses way less hydroflouric acid than oil refining. The final stage uses sulfuric acid and while again acid is never good, sulfuric acid is one of the most-used and most-produced chemicals. Most minerals require sulfuric acid for extraction. It comes in a bottle of drain cleaner. Mining lithium rock is as economically painless as buying blasting powder and excavators, and as environmentally painless as... well nothing. The pollution is basically negligible. I didn't know the gigafactory was gonna do component-level recycling, that's pretty cool. I think it should be relatively easy to separate the metals from the SEI and graphite/lithium in a recoverable way, but processing the SEI has to be pretty complex. Maybe acid would do it- at that point it would probably be worth it to recycle the lithium but you'd have to set up an entire process line just to be able to add it to raw feedstock ore. It'll take a LOT of battery recycling before that's more profitable than selling it as clinker.

by hwillis 10y ago

Robotbeat 10y ago

I'm talking about the newer process they're developing at the gigafactory. But you're right that lithium is so cheap at the moment (getting it from salty brines) that you don't really need to recycle it. The other metals, sure. But push comes to shove, you could pull it from ocean water. Won't ever be economically competitive with brines, but it's also not too expensive if that were the only option.

hwillis 10y ago
copying my other comment: >Lithium is one of the most prevalent elements on earth. Spodumene (rocky lithium ore) is likely to be a very important economic source in the future as it is much more common than the brine currently used to manufacture batteries. Brine requires a water pump to extract, spodumene requires mining like any normal mineral, but it's found in extremely high quality deposits in the US including single crystals up to 47 feet across. That means higher quality lithium in addition to greater availability. >Spodumene is ~6-7% lithium by mass and is mined in an open pit, so no worries about soil or water pollution. It's separated from other rocks by grinding, flotation, and then acid. Very few people like acid in their industrial processes but I will note that lithium production uses way less hydroflouric acid than oil refining. The final stage uses sulfuric acid and while again acid is never good, sulfuric acid is one of the most-used and most-produced chemicals. Most minerals require sulfuric acid for extraction. It comes in a bottle of drain cleaner. Mining lithium rock is as economically painless as buying blasting powder and excavators, and as environmentally painless as... well nothing. The pollution is basically negligible. I didn't know the gigafactory was gonna do component-level recycling, that's pretty cool. I think it should be relatively easy to separate the metals from the SEI and graphite/lithium in a recoverable way, but processing the SEI has to be pretty complex. Maybe acid would do it- at that point it would probably be worth it to recycle the lithium but you'd have to set up an entire process line just to be able to add it to raw feedstock ore. It'll take a LOT of battery recycling before that's more profitable than selling it as clinker.