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How recyclable are these newer battery chemistries? I know that lead acid batteries are fairly easy to recycle, but many of these more exotic ones seem harder t

• TD-Linux 6y ago
  It is more complicated because there are more compounds to recover, and the batteries have a finer structure, but you can still do a broadly similar process. Compare lead-acid recycling: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxCFDWMPu38 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxCFDWMPu38 To lithium recycling: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxCFDWMPu38 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxCFDWMPu38
  • ProZsolt 6y ago
    Both link are the same
• Obi_Juan_Kenobi 6y ago
  Ultimately, you can smelt them. It's not very economical, but the elements don't go away. Ideally, you'd be able to 'refresh' the electrode material inexpensively. This involves removing lithium plating from the anode, and oxidized electrolyte from the cathode. This isn't a mature process, and it won't be until battery chemistries and manufacturing get more standardized and scale up. But there aren't strong theoretical reasons why this should be uneconomical. These issues take place at the surface of the electrode grains, and can likely be solved with bulk treatment. It's still going to require a fair amount of work to harvest the electrode material, but materials cost is a large percentage of battery production.
  • fomine3 6y ago
    I'm curious why the refresh process is not popular now.