Abstract
Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are the backbone of the energy transition. Thanks to their high-energy storage/conversion efficiency and energy density, LIBs represent the enabling technology of UN Sustainable Development Goal n. 7 "Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy". The LIBs’ applications skyrocketing increase makes mandatory minimizing the environmental impact of manufacturing and recycling, and end-of-life (EoL) management by a circular economy approach. Indeed, LIBs manufacturing and EoL disposal still represent environmental hurdles. DiGreen addresses such a challenging goal becoming the seed of the first Italian platform of activities devoted to LIB design for sustainable recycling. Leveraging on the complementary skills of three research units, DiGreen addresses the following two specific objectives through the LIB supply/life chain by novel approaches, in full compliance of the Strategic Research Agenda for Batteries and Italian “Piano nazionale di ripresa e resilienza” (PNRR) actions devoted to energy transition in the short and medium term: - To develop an innovative green recycling process based on the use of deep eutectic solvents (DES). - To set up a Digital Battery Passport Platform (DBPP) designed to sort LIB aged cells and evaluate the techno-economical impact of the recycling/recovery processes. The results will be critically evaluated by economic and environmental analyses referring to specific key performance indicators (KPIs) and materials processing, which will be deeply investigated by advanced analytical techniques coupled with electrochemical studies.
Results achieved
DIGREEN activities have demonstrated the feasibility of the use of DES systems as a promising alternative to conventional hydrometallurgical routes for cobalt recovery. During the research period, several ternary deep eutectic solvents were studied and characterized. Through optimization of both the mixtures and the process variables for microwave-assisted extraction, it was found that the DES composed of ChCl:LA:Ur in a 1:3:1 molar ratio was particularly efficient in extracting Li, Ni, and Co (>99%) under conditions of 70°C, 100 W, and 15 minutes. The extracted metals were precipitated and converted into precursors suitable for the synthesis of a new cathode material. The cathode material was characterized morphologically and structurally and featured the required characteristics for a second-use in LIBs. The recycling case study based on the use of TEP and DES was investigated by LCA. This study enabled the identification of environmentally critical stages of the DES-based recycling pathway, which are useful to support future process optimization and eco-design. Overall, the structured LCA methodology enabled a comprehensive understanding of the environmental profile of this emerging cobalt recovery route and demonstrated how methodological rigor can guide eco-design in early process development. Building a sustainable recycling industry is a strategic priority that can be facilitated by the consolidation of Battery Passport platforms. In this context, DIGREEN activities have laid the basis for the identification of the best approaches to develop innovative green recycling process based on the use of deep eutectic solvents (DES). In parallel, the Digital Battery Passport Platform (DBPP) has been designed as frame to collect data related to LIB aged cells. Hence, these activities will be exploited by the partners and applied to different aged cells, with the aim of populating the digital platform even by opening the collaboration to the scientific community and industry. Indeed, the main achievements have been published in Open Access (https://github.com/daimoners/sinbad/), hence fully accessible by the LIB operators. DIGREEN activities have been disseminated by 9 publications on peer-reviewed journals, 16 presentations at national and international conferences, both as orals or posters, and 11 public engagement activities. The project website was published at: https://site.unibo.it/digreen/enProject details
Unibo Team Leader: Francesca Soavi
Unibo involved Department/s:
Dipartimento di Chimica "Giacomo Ciamician"
Coordinator:
ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - Università di Bologna(Italy)
Total Eu Contribution: Euro (EUR) 203.717,00
Total Unibo Contribution: Euro (EUR) 72.293,00
Project Duration in months: 24
Start Date:
16/10/2023
End Date:
28/02/2026
