Recently, it was learned from the Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences (hereinafter referred to as the Institute) that the institute's technology for short-range utilization of lithium battery waste and whole-process pollution control has won the first prize of the 2020 Environmental Protection Science and Technology Award from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.
According to reports, this technology has achieved selective lithium recovery and short-range recycling of the medium in lithium battery waste, reducing related wastewater emissions by more than 40%, and providing technical support for the short-range clean utilization of lithium battery waste. Currently, the research results have been implemented in companies such as Guangdong Bangpu Recycling Technology Co., Ltd., resulting in the construction of the industry's first demonstration project for the short-range clean utilization and pollution control of lithium battery waste. It has also been applied to more than 10 industrialization projects, accumulating 44 intellectual property rights.
Researchers told my country Science Daily that lithium battery production waste and retired batteries contain valuable metals such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel, as well as toxic and harmful substances such as organic solvents and fluorine/phosphorus organic compounds. Improper handling will seriously endanger environmental safety and human health. The safe, efficient, and green recycling of retired power lithium batteries has become a scientific problem that must be solved.
Based on long-term research into the efficient treatment of lithium battery waste, researchers at the Institute of Process Engineering have analyzed the pollution sources of existing lithium battery waste, revealed the release and transfer transformation patterns of pollutants, and proposed a new efficient waste treatment method centered on clean production source reduction, internal circulation of media, and near-zero wastewater discharge. This method has made breakthroughs in key technologies such as selective lithium extraction, oil removal from raffinate, treatment of wastewater containing heavy metal ammonia nitrogen, and treatment of discharge wastewater, thus overcoming the challenge of short-range utilization of retired power lithium batteries.
