Selective Recovery of Lithium Hydroxide from Spent NCA (LiNiCoAlO2) Powder

Abstract

This research was conducted on the method of recovering the lithium hydroxide and valuable metal from the NCA-based cathode active materials in the spent lithium-ion batteries. The recovery rate of lithium depends on the reaction temperature, retention time, reaction time during H₂ reduction and solid-liquid ratio. Lithium hydroxide and valuable metals were recovered under each experimental condition, and the following optimal process conditions were determined based on the results of experiment. Based on the charging of 10g of NCA powder, the optimal process conditions were determined as follows: the reaction temperature of 700?; the retention time of 3hrs; and the H₂ gas flowrate of 300cc/min; the leaching time of 1hr for water leaching; the solid-liquid ratio of the sample and distilled water at 1:30; the stirring speed of 300rpm at room temperature, and the recovery rate of 92.30% was achieved.