A new LiCoO2 recovery technology for Li-ion batteries was studied in this paper. LiCoO2 was peeled from the Al foil with dimethyl acetamide (DMAC), and then polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and carbon powders in the active material were eliminated by high temperature calcining. Subsequently, Li2CO3, LiOH·H2O and LiAc·2H2O were added into the recycled powders to adjust the Li/Co molar ratio to 1.00. The new LiCoO2 was obtained by calcining the mixture at 850°C for 12 h in air. The structure and morphology of the recycled powders and resulting samples were studied by XRD and SEM techniques, respectively. The layered structure of LiCoO2 synthesized by adding Li2CO3 is the best, and it is found to have the best characteristics as a cathode material in terms of charge-discharge capacity and cycling performance. The first discharge capacity is 160 mAh·g-1 between 3.0-4.3 V. The discharge capacity after cycling for 50 times is still 145.2 mAh·g-1.
The recovery of Ni, Co and Mn from spent battery material is very important to environment protection, utilization of resources and cost reduction of the material. The dissolution rates of Ni, Co and Mn with hydrochloric acid as leachant are all over 95% under the optimal conditions of initial hydrochloric acid of 6 mol/L, particle size of 120 μm for the exhausted scraps, molar ratio of H2O2 to MeS of 2, leaching temperature about 60 ℃, ratio of liquid to solid of 8, and leaching time of 2 h. The NixCoyMnz precursor for cathode material prepared from the purified leaching solution, can meet the demand of precursor by pure chemicals. The process is economic and feasible for base metals from spent battery material.
