Why is recycling lithium batteries for smartphones and cars risky?

We need safer ways to recycle electric car batteries and cell phones.

Lithium-ion batteries are ubiquitous – in laptops, TVs, cell phones, electric cars, e-cigarettes, power tools, and even in some greeting cards. In 2019, the global lithium-ion battery market was valued at $36.7 billion. By 2027, it is predicted to grow to more than $129 billion.

This energy storage technology is transformative for the clean energy sector, all thanks to the high energy density of lithium-cobalt oxide. But there's a downside to everything, these energy sources are notoriously volatile and can easily turn into a fire hazard - especially towards the end of their life. In the last few years, lithium-ion batteries have been the cause of catastrophic fires that broke out at various recycling plants in the US, UK, France and China. There are also fire and explosion accidents of phones, laptops, and cars scattered around the world.

During collection and recycling, these batteries may go undetected in the trash.

In 2016, a devastating fire broke out at the Shoreway Environmental Center in San Carlos, California (USA), causing $6.8 million worth of damage. The cause of the fire was an improperly recycled lithium-ion battery. They have also caused disasters in landfills and garbage trucks. It is estimated that the US and Canada have suffered more than $1.2 billion worth of damage because of lithium-ion battery fires.

The core problem occurs in old lithium-ion batteries that have reached the end of their life and are thrown in the trash and taken to the recycling area. During collection and recycling, these batteries may go undetected in the trash. They can be crushed, accidentally run over by loaders, or jostled on conveyor belts in waste facilities.

When the barrier between the cathode and anode of a lithium-ion battery breaks, it causes a thermal reaction that separates the lithium molecules. These molecules can then reach extremely high temperatures in a short time and ignite or explode.

Studies have demonstrated that compared to the number of lithium-ion batteries sold annually, not as many batteries go through the e-waste or hazardous waste system for recycling. No one knows the exact number of lithium batteries that end up in the trash. So the big challenge now is how to separate lithium batteries from solid waste streams.

But even after separating lithium batteries from solid waste, recycling the batteries is still a new challenge. It is difficult to recover lithium and other rare metals such as cobalt during the recycling process. As of 2021, battery manufacturers such as BYD, Toyota and GM, have been working on ways to make electric vehicle batteries more stable using different metals such as manganese, phosphate and less cobalt. But it is estimated that it could take five years to a decade before the technology is upgraded.

With battery recycling facilities already in place, traditional processing is not efficient enough to extract high-quality lithium that can be used for recycling. For example, the method of using heat treatment of batteries, which is easy to scale, can be applied to any type of battery, but is very power-hungry for the battery smelting process.

The remaining ash still contains reusable materials, but the method still produces large amounts of toxic fumes, even destroying potentially recyclable materials. The method of using chemicals to separate materials from batteries is both complicated and difficult to apply.

Another major obstacle lies in separating the components of increasingly complex battery systems. Today's batteries are a combination of many compartments, which encapsulate each individual battery cell; this is where the most precious metals hide. Although block splitting is possible, it is still extremely cumbersome, the process will need to be automated for maximum performance.

Although the average life cycle of lightweight lithium-ion batteries is nearly 15 years, by 2030 it is estimated that at least 2,619,000 tons of lithium-ion batteries will need to be recycled. The recycling industry in the US has set up new plants with advanced technology and higher capacity to prepare for this increase.

While waiting for more lithium battery recycling plants to operate, it is very important to raise public awareness about lithium battery waste segregation. Please note, disposing of old electronic products with lithium-ion batteries in recycling bins helps prevent fire accidents.