Method, apparatus, and system for lithium ion battery recycling
The present application provides a system and method for discharging and processing of lithium ion batteries to extract one or more metals. The extracted metals are in a powder form that can be reused at second stage processing facilities. The extracted metal powder can include lithium and at least one of cobalt, nickel, manganese, and carbon.
1 . A battery processing system comprising:
a sorter configured to sort a mixed chemistry of batteries comprising lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries and one or more of alkaline, nickel metal hydride (Ni-MH) and nickel cadmium (Ni—Cd) batteries, such that the Li-ion batteries are separated from the one or more of alkaline, Ni-MH and Ni—Cd batteries into bins;
a packaging removal device configured to remove packaging from the Li-ion batteries to expose Li-ion cells of the Li-ion batteries;
a puncturing device configured to puncture the Li-ion cells before discharging, wherein the puncturing allows electrolyte in the punctured Li-ion cells to dry out to increase a speed of electrolyte evaporation and decrease a Li-ion processing time of the battery processing;
a conveyor configured to deposit the punctured Li-ion cells in water for fire or fume mitigation;
a kiln or salt bath configured to discharge the punctured Li-ion cells;
a cooling retort configured to cool the discharged and punctured Li-ion cells;
a shredder configured to shred the cooled, discharged, and punctured Li-ion cells into pieces;
a magnetic separator configured to remove iron (Fe) from the shredded pieces; and
a pulverizer configured to pulverize remaining shredded pieces of the pieces into a mixed powder including Li and at least one powder selected from the group consisting of cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), manganese (Mn) and carbon (C).
2 . The battery processing system of claim 1 , further comprising an air separator configured to separate aluminum (Al) and copper (Cu) from the mixed powder.
3 . The battery processing system of claim 1 , wherein the salt bath comprises an aqueous solution of sodium chloride (NaCl), sodium sulfate (NaSO 4 ), iron sulfate (FeSO 4 ) or zinc sulfate (ZnSO 4 ) for discharging the Li-ion cells.
4 . The battery processing system of claim 1 , further comprising a rotary kiln downstream of the discharging kiln to reduce the Li-ion cells down to a calcined metal product to be shredded.
5 . The battery processing system of claim 1 , further comprising a fume mitigation system comprising one or more of a liquid propane gas (LPG) burner, a heat exchanger, quencher, one or more scrubbers, electrostatic dust collector, and emission stack.
6 . An integrated recycling system for processing electric vehicle (EV) modules, the system comprising: a puncturing device configured to puncture the EV modules before discharging, wherein the puncturing allows electrolyte in the punctured EV modules to dry out to increase affects a speed of electrolyte evaporation and decrease a Li-ion processing time; a conveyor configured to deposit the punctured EV modules in water for fire or fume mitigation; a kiln configured to discharge the punctured EV module by heating; a cooling retort configured to cool the discharged and punctured EV modules; a shredder shredding the discharged EV modules into pieces; a magnetic separator for separating metal-containing interior cells from plastic remains; and a pulverizer for pulverizing the metal-containing interior cells into a mixed metal powder.
7 . The integrated recycling system of claim 6 , further comprising a fume mitigation system comprising one or more of a liquid propane gas (LPG) burner, a heat exchanger, quencher, one or more scrubbers, electrostatic dust collector, and emission stack.
8 . The integrated recycling system of claim 6 , wherein the mixed metal powder comprises lithium (Li) and at least one of cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni) and manganese (Mn).
9 . The integrated recycling system of claim 6 , further comprising a dismantling station configured to dismantle cell packs and separating of cells from the EV module.
10 . The integrated recycling system of claim 6 , wherein the shredder comprises a hydraulic dual shaft shredder.
11 . The integrated recycling system of claim 6 , wherein the discharging kiln comprises a continuous direct gas burning device.