NiMH No.7 batteries

How to recycle NiMH No.7 batteries? New technology extracts lithium and cobalt from them!

Today, most electronic devices such as smartphones, tablets, wearable devices, and electric vehicles use rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. However, these NiMH No.7 batteries will degrade in function and efficiency after two to three years of use, or even end their life. At this time, it is necessary to consider recycling. Recently, a new study published in the International Journal of Energy Technology and Policy describes a new method to extract lithium and cobalt from these batteries, two metals that make up most of the battery components.

How to recycle NiMH No.7 batteries? New technology extracts lithium and cobalt from them!

Solution

According to Ataur Rahman, Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Rafia Afroz, Department of Economics, International Islamic University of Malaysia, the prices of lithium and cobalt are increasing due to the fact that the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries requires these two metals. At present, they have developed a new recycling technology that can effectively extract these metals from waste batteries.

Process

The team used hydrometallurgical technology to reduce cobalt and lithium from 48.8Wh NiMH No.7 batteries in laboratory-level tests. The process involves first baking the battery in an oven at 700 degrees Celsius, "calcining" the cobalt, lithium and copper, destroying organic compounds such as plastics and foams. The calcined material carries metals and metal compounds (salts and oxides), which are then treated with strong acids, hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid, to extract the metal ions. The team experimented with hydrogen peroxide as a reducing agent to test whether this reagent could improve the leaching process. They were able to extract lithium with an efficiency of about 50% and cobalt with an efficiency of about 25%.

Feasibility

Because these metals represent 41% and 8.5% of the weight of the 48.8Wh battery, respectively, the overall extraction rate is high, and the combination of heat and acid constitutes a commercially viable solution for recycling the electrodes of these batteries.

The leached metals can then be used to make new batteries or for other industrial applications. The contaminated liquid waste can then be further recycled and processed more safely.

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