Recovery of Spent Lithium Ion Batteries Using Advanced Separation Methods

Currently, the dominant practices in industry for the recycling of Lithium Ion Batteries start with either comminution as a precursor step, for initial module-breaking and access to raw materials, or pyrometallurgy. In these conventional approaches, batteries’ active materials become mixed in a lower-value form, and their structures and morphological properties are destroyed. This Special Issue of Separations focuses on advanced separation methods able to maintain value in Lithium Ion Recycling, focusing on next-generation recycling approaches that preserve value and structure with a view to higher-value and lower-impact material recovery. Whilst the focus is on Lithium Ion Battery Recycling, we also encourage contributions that look at recovery in future battery chemistries. This Special Issue will focus on novel methods at the frontier of Lithium Ion Battery Recycling for clean material separation and the maintenance of materials in a higher value state in order to preserve value and reduce the impact of downstream recycling processes. It will focus on methods of disassembly, deconstruction and delamination that promote the development of more efficient Lithium Ion Battery Recycling approaches, as well as early design-for-recycling interventions, enabling the cleaner separation and disassembly of Lithium Ion Battery Packs. We are also interested in techno-economic and life cycle assessments of alternative routes for Lithium Ion Battery Recycling.