Patented boost charging lithium battery recycling into treasure

　　Author ：Iflowpower – Portable Power Station Supplier

In recent years, with the rapid development of the new energy automotive industry, the production of lithium-ion batteries as a power lithium battery also presents a well spray rise. The life expectancy of the lithium-ion battery is about 5 years to 7 years, which also gives birth to a huge lithium-ion battery recycling market. According to the report of the Chinese Business Research Institute, my country's market scale created by metal from the waste lithium ion battery is expected to exceed 10 billion yuan in 2020, 2023 can reach 250.

Billion. From the market, there is currently a widely used lithium-ion battery, an important lithium-ion battery, depending on the positive electrode material, a lithium-manganese acid lithium-ion battery, a lithium iron-free battery, a three-dimensional ion battery. With regard to different types of lithium-ion batteries, there is a difference in the recovery method.

For example, the metal containing the lithium iron phosphate ion battery is only lithium, although the value of directly recovering lithium is not high, but its cycle performance and stability are better. It can be used to make full use of gradient use, after the scrap recovery; and the ternary lithium ion battery contains high value metal such as nickel, cobalt, manganese, but the cycle and safety are poor, not suitable for gradient utilization, but can be directly Resource transformation. Based on the analysis of patent documents, this paper explores the development of recycling and utilization of waste lithium-ion batteries, in order to supply reference for relevant companies.

Foreign Breakfast Technical Multi - lithium-ion batteries were born in the 1970s, and they will start commercial use after the 1990s. Since the early lithium-ion battery is important to use small batteries such as buttons and less usage, the recovery value is similar to other batteries, and the acid and other uses after physical dismantling. Therefore, at this stage, less patent applications related to the recovery of lithium ion batteries, the number of patented applications for the global year is about 20 pieces, and it is important to extract high-value metal with wet metallurgy.

After 2009, with the large number of electric vehicles and electronic products, the use of lithium-ion batteries exhibited dramatic increasing trends, and the annual patent application of lithium-ion battery recovery also increased to nearly 100 pieces. Japan's Summour metal, rock metal, Toyota, Belgium, Germany, Merck, South Korea Geological Resources Research Institute, and a number of companies including global important lithium-ion battery markets, including my country, have been involved in lithium-ion battery recycling Utilization, related patent applications relate to the pre-treatment of the lithium-ion battery, the separation of the positive material, the extraction of value metal, the recovery of lithium ion batteries such as electrolyte treatment. Different companies' battery recycling technology is different.

Taking Japanese Sumitomi metal as an example, as a positive material supplier of TSLA and Toyota automotive battery, the early important use of high temperature calcination combined with pulverization, screening, etc. Nickel, cobalt. However, since this processing is high and is not easy to recover the metal, aluminum and other metals, Shoumou metals have begun to recover lithium in wet treatment, and the extractants have been studied.

In another Japanese company, the rock metal is important to study wet metallurgy. Efficient separation and recovery of nickel, cobalt, manganese, copper, iron, aluminum, and lithium, etc. in lithium ion battery waste.

After 2013, related research of foreign companies is more inclined to increase environmentality and economics during battery recovery, such as using low toxic or even non-toxic solvents, simplifying the recovery process and the treatment of fluorine-containing electrolyte, and recovering technology. No significant breakthrough progress. In the industrial, battery recycling company and downstream battery applications have been continuously strengthened in battery recycling, such as Shoumou Metal and Toyota, Jewelry and BMW, Audi and other international car companies reached a strategic cooperation of battery recycling, promoting battery material recycling.

Closed-loop operation, and foreign companies such as Jimei have also begun to carry out industrial layouts in my country. The patent application of the domestic starting night patent rises in China is submitted in 2001. In general, it is increasingly increasing year by year, of which my country's total patent application is less, after 2009 The amount of relevant patent application has increased, and the original annual patent application volume has risen to more than 400 pieces, and it is still in a rapid rise.

It can be seen that the domestic technical application for the recovery of lithium-ion batteries is later, but the development trend is basically consistent abroad. Unlike foreign companies, my country's company is based on new energy vehicle power lithium batteries, and the preliminary importance is mainly based on lithium iron phosphate. The relevant patent layout is concentrated in the recycling of waste-free ion batteries in wet metallurgy, and about the dry method Pre-treatment processes such as metallurgy, battery discharge and dismantling, and relatively small patents involved in the recovery of electrolytes.

It is worth noting that although the total amount of patent applications for domestic companies has a low amount of patent applications, the application of the applicant is low, and the relevant patent application is concentrated in the country, lacks awareness of the international market layout. With domestic companies more pursuit of low-carbon and sustainable development, the company's recycling research on lithium-ion battery materials with reused value is continuously improved, such as Hefei Guoxuan High Class, Greenmei, Bond Circulation, Tianqi Lithium, BYD Many domestic companies involve relevant technology research and development. It is worth mentioning that the number of patent applications in the relevant fields of colleges and research institutes is more than the company, such as Central South University, my country Institute of Process Engineering, Nankai University, Tsinghua University, etc.

Compared with foreign companies, my country's companies and research institutes jointly developed and submitted small quantities, which reflects the differences in research directions and the shortcomings of cooperation, and the future is needed to further strengthen companies and research. Joint technology development. In the industry, there have been some cooperation between battery recycling companies and applications, and speed up the promotion and application of this field, such as Bangu Circulation and CATL, Hefei Xuan Gaojiao and Gansu Jinchuan, but also note that domestic Lithium-ion battery recycling real development peaks have not yet arrived, most domestic companies are still in its infancy, less technical and low industrialization.

The author believes that due to the high-value metal such as lithium iron, cobalt, manganese, the economically benefits of nickel, cobalt, manganese, and lithium elements are not high, and there are many companies that are engaged in lithium-ion battery recycling research, and industrial scale is generally small. Therefore, the technical force is weak, so how to enhance its own competitiveness before the lithium-ion battery recovery market has not yet built, improve recovery benefits, so that the company will survive will become the first problem facing domestic related companies. In summary, whether it is from industry growth, or from lithium-ion battery recovery technologies, the recycling of lithium-ion batteries is still in the primary stage, and with the new growth of waste lithium-ion batteries and the promotion of relevant policies, Lithium-ion battery recovery will inevitably develop in the next few years.

At the same time, as the world's largest lithium-ion battery consumer market, China has attracted more and more foreign companies and income, and market competition will be increasingly fierce. The author suggested that in the face of increasingly intensified market competition, domestic related companies should prepare, hard work, and improve their comprehensive strength. In terms of technology, first, improve the ability to recover the direct regeneration utilization of waste-free lithium-ion batteries, simplify the recovery process, reduce the recovery cost of the waste battery; secondly, it can improve the recycling rate of valuable metal recovery by strengthening the technology and research institutes.

And regenerated product performance, promoting lithium-ion battery recycling economic benefits, and speeding up the study of three-dimensional lithium-ion battery recovery technology, advance layout of three yuan lithium ion battery recycling. In terms of industries, we must deepen cooperation between and downstream applications, the distance between the target market, and improve the recycling mechanism of waste lithium-ion battery materials, and construct a lithium-ion battery from R & D and production, application to recycling. The closed-loop industry chain can also expand the application field of battery recovery materials, and improve the value of recycling waste batteries.