Vacuum pyrolysis and hydrometallurgical process for the recovery of valuable metals from spent lithium-ion batteries

► The cathode active materials LiCoO2 from spent lithium-ion batteries peeled completely from aluminum foils by vacuum pyrolysis and hydrometallurgical process. ► The aluminum foils were excellent without damage after vacuum pyrolysis. ► The pyrolysis products organic fluorine compounds from organic electrolyte and binder were collected and enriched. ► High leaching efficiencies of cobalt and lithium were obtained with H2SO4 and H2O2.