Department of Battery and Chemical Engineering, Changwon National University, Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do 51140, Republic of Korea.
Department of Bio and Health Sciences, Changwon National University, Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do 51140, Republic of Korea.
Environ Sci Technol. 2024 Oct 15;58(41):18345-18355. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.4c05486. Epub 2024 Oct 1.
The consumption of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has considerably increased over the past decade, leading to a rapid increase in the number of spent LIBs. Exposing spent LIBs to the environment can cause serious environmental harm; however, there is a lack of experimentally obtained information regarding the environmental impacts of abandoned cathode materials. Here, we report the interactions between , a microorganism commonly found in diverse low-oxygen natural settings, and LiNiCoMnO (NCM622) under anaerobic conditions. We present compelling evidence that the anaerobic respiration of triggers ∼59 and ∼78% dissolution of 0.2 g/L pristine and spent NCM622, respectively. We observed that interacted with the pristine and the spent NCM622 under anaerobic conditions at a neutral pH and room temperature and induced the reduction of Ni, Co, and Mn, resulting in the subsequent dissolution of Li, Ni, Co, and Mn. Moreover, we found that secondary mineralization occurred on the surface of reacted NCM622. These findings not only shed light on the substantial impact of microbial respiration on the fate of discarded cathode materials in anaerobic environments but also reveal the potential for sustainable bioleaching of cathodes in spent LIBs.
过去十年，锂离子电池（LIBs）的消耗量大幅增加，导致废旧 LIB 数量迅速增加。将废旧 LIB 暴露在环境中会造成严重的环境危害；然而，对于废弃阴极材料的环境影响，我们缺乏经过实验获得的信息。在这里，我们报告了一种在各种低氧自然环境中普遍存在的微生物 与 LiNiCoMnO（NCM622）在厌氧条件下的相互作用。我们提供了令人信服的证据，表明 无氧呼吸分别触发了 0.2g/L 原始和使用过的 NCM622 中约 59%和 78%的溶解。我们观察到，在中性 pH 值和室温下， 在厌氧条件下与原始和使用过的 NCM622 相互作用，并诱导 Ni、Co 和 Mn 的还原，从而导致随后 Li、Ni、Co 和 Mn 的溶解。此外，我们发现反应后的 NCM622 表面发生了次生矿化。这些发现不仅阐明了微生物呼吸对厌氧环境中废弃阴极材料命运的重大影响，还揭示了从废旧 LIB 中可持续生物浸出阴极的潜力。
