Metal Recycling Technologies for Battery Waste

This review is related to the process development for batteries and related waste. The review’s primary focus is the metal recovery and remediation of the following types of battery waste: alkaline (Zn-MnO2), saline (Zn-carbon), lithium (Li-SOCl2, Li-MnO2), nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd), nickel-metal hydride (NiMH), lead-acid, lithium-ion (Li-CoO2, Li-MnO2) and lithium-polymer. Various treatments have been developed to diminish the impact of hazardous metals on the environment and to preserve the valuable metal (e.g., Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Li, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) resources. Three main technological approaches, namely, pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy and physical treatments, have been proposed. This paper covers the developments in the field of technology for metal recovery from battery waste based on an analysis of 14 patents.