Reproduction of Li battery LiNixMnyCo1−x−yO2 positive electrode material from the recycling of waste battery

In this study, Co, Li and Ni were acquired from waste battery to remake positive electrode material of Li battery, then the battery was assembled and battery charging and discharging was conducted. By doing so, the waste can be turned into resource, and pollution issue to the environment from the battery can be reduced and manufacturing cost of the battery can be reduced too. Presently, the recycling treatment of waste Li battery was to adopt wet metallurgical method to separate Li, Co, Ni and Mn elements and to prepare respectively all kinds of pure oxide or carbonate, therefore, the process was very tedious, and the economic efficiency was not as expected. In this study, Co, Li and Ni were acquired from waste battery to make Li, Ni, Mn, Co ternary material positive electrode powder. In the process, Li, Ni, Mn and Co proportion in the solution was analyzed, and insufficient metallic ion composition was then added. After it was adjusted to correct composition, it was sintered into positive electrode material powder. Therefore, element separation procedure can be saved, and the cost can be greatly reduced. In this study, waste battery was used to remake positive electrode material, and SEM and XRD were used first to observe micro structure, then it was assembled into battery. After battery charging and discharging performance test, it can reach 122.21 mA h/g, which was about 88% of that made by pure material. Consequently, the purposes of low manufacturing cost of positive electrode material, the recycling of valuable Co material from the waste battery, the reduction of waste material and the turning of waste into resource can be reached.