Solvent-Free Flash Joule Heating Enables High-Yield Battery Recovery

A research team at Rice University is addressing the environmental challenge of efficiently recycling lithium-ion batteries as their usage continues to rise. They developed a novel technique for removing pure active elements from battery trash, which could make it easier to separate and recycle valuable battery materials at a low cost. This could aid in the production of environmentally friendly electric cars. The study was published in the journal Nature Communications.

James Tour, the T.T. and W.F. Chao Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Materials Science and Nanoengineering, led the team.

With the surge in battery use, particularly in EVs, the need for developing sustainable recycling methods is pressing.

James Tour, T.T. and W.F. Chao Professor, Chemistry, Rice University

Conventional recycling methods typically involve breaking down battery materials into their elemental forms through energy-intensive thermal or chemical processes. These techniques are expensive and have significant environmental 

The group hypothesized that wasted battery components could be easier to separate and purify if they have magnetic characteristics.

They developed a novel technique called solvent-free Flash Joule Heating (FJH). This method involves quickly heating and changing a moderately resistive material into another substance by running a current through it.

In a few seconds, the researchers used FJH to heat battery waste to 2,500 Kelvin, producing novel features with stable core structures and magnetic shells. Magnetic separation made effective purification possible.

Throughout the procedure, the cobalt-based battery cathodes, usually found in electric vehicles and linked to significant economic, environmental, and social expenses, unintentionally displayed magnetism in the outer layers of spinel cobalt oxide, making separation simple.

The researchers' strategy produced a high battery metal recovery yield of 98 % while preserving the battery's structural integrity.

Notably, the metal impurities were significantly reduced after separation while preserving the structure and functionality of the materials. The bulk structure of battery materials remains stable and is ready to be reconstituted into new cathodes.

James Tour, T.T. and W.F. Chao Professor, Chemistry, Rice University

The study's co-lead authors are Rice graduate students Weiyin Chen and Jinhang Chen, as well as postdoctoral researcher and Rice Academy Junior Fellow Yi Cheng.

Co-authors of the study include Research Administrator of Materials Science and Nanoengineering Ksenia Bets; former Postdoctoral Researcher and Now Academic Visitor in the Tour lab Rodrigo Salvatierra; Postdoctoral Researcher Bing Deng; Applied Physics graduate students Chang Ge, Duy Luong, and Emily McHugh; Rice alumni John Li and Zicheng Wang; and Chemistry Research Scientist Carter Kittrell.

Additionally, Research Scientist of Materials Science and Nanoengineering Guanhui Gao, Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Nanoengineering Yimo Han, and Karl F. Hasselmann, Professor of Engineering and Professor of Materials Science and Nanoengineering Boris Yakobson contributed to the study.

This research was funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and the Rice Academy Fellowship.

Journal Reference:

Chen, W., et al. (2024) Nondestructive flash cathode recycling. Nature Communications. doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-50324-x.