Comparison of different pretreatment processes for lithium-ion battery recycling from a life cycle assessment perspective.

With the rapid growth of electric vehicles and portable electronics, the demand for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is soaring, bringing urgent attention to the sustainable management of spent LIBs (S-LIBs). Efficient recycling is essential to recover valuable materials, reduce environmental burden, and mitigate resource scarcity. However, the pretreatment stage, which includes discharging, binder removal, and comminution remains a bottleneck in terms of safety, cost, and scalability. The main objective of this study is to evaluate four pretreatment options for S-LIBs, focusing on discharging, binder removal and grinding methods from technical, environmental and economic perspectives. The results show that cryogenic discharging combined with cryogenic grinding without solvent treatment offers a good balance between process efficiency and ease of implementation. Life cycle assessment (LCA) showed that the use of NaCl solution for discharge has the lowest global warming potential but poses operational and safety challenges. Conversely, options utilizing N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) for binder removal increased both cost and environmental impact. The economic analysis highlighted the critical need to optimize liquid nitrogen and solvent usage for scalability. These results provide insights into sustainable and cost-effective pretreatment strategies that improve the feasibility of industrial-scale S-LIB recycling.