The Environmental Impacts of Recycling Portable Lithium-Ion Batteries

TLDR

Electronic waste is rapidly expanding, with lithium‑ion batteries dominating portable devices, and recycling these batteries cuts energy use, greenhouse‑gas emissions, and preserves natural resources compared to landfilling. The study aims to identify which recycling processes for portable lithium‑ion batteries have the lowest environmental impact. The authors survey materials recovered from various recycling processes worldwide and perform a comparative life‑cycle assessment of hydrometallurgy versus pyrometallurgy to evaluate environmental impacts. The analysis finds that electricity generation, plastic incineration, and residue landfilling are the largest impact contributors, and that low‑temperature processes that recover plastic are most beneficial.

Abstract

Waste from electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) is one of the fastest growing waste streams, with its volume expected to increase by a third from 2013 to 2017. Lithium-ion batteries are the most common battery type used in portable electronic devices and their use is expected to double from 2013-14 to 2019-20. The recycling of lithium-ion batteries reduces energy consumption, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and results in considerable natural resource savings when compared to landfill. However, it is unclear which recycling processes have the least impact on the environment. This paper will investigate the different processes that are currently used for recycling portable lithium-ion batteries, such as hydrometallurgy, pyrometallurgy, and combinations of processes. Surveys are carried out to understand the materials recovered from each process, and are obtained from several recycling companies around the world. A comparative life cycle assessment will be performed for two different recycling processes (hydrometallurgy and pyrometallurgy), in order to understand the associated environmental impacts. This study shows that the largest contributors to the environmental impacts are electricity generation, incineration of plastics, and landfilling of residue. In terms of environmental effects, it is suggested that the most beneficial processes are those that utilise low temperatures, and are capable of recovering plastic.