Ever-growing global energy needs and environmental damage have motivated the pursuit of sustainable energy sources and storage technologies. As attractive energy storage technologies to integrate renewable resources and electric transportation, rechargeable batteries, including lead–acid, nickel–metal hydride, nickel–cadmium, and lithium-ion batteries, are undergoing unprecedented rapid development. However, the intrinsic toxicity of rechargeable batteries arising from their use of toxic materials is potentially environmentally hazardous. Additionally, the massive production of batteries consumes numerous resources, some of which are scarce. It is therefore essential to consider battery recycling when developing battery systems. Here, we provide a systematic overview of rechargeable battery recycling from a sustainable perspective. We present state-of-the-art fundamental research and industrial technologies related to battery recycling, with a special focus on lithium-ion battery recycling. We introduce the concept of sustainability through a discussion of the life-cycle assessment of battery recycling. Considering the forecasted trend of a massive number of retired power batteries from the forecasted surge in electric vehicles, their repurposing and reuse are considered from economic, technical, environmental, and market perspectives. New opportunities, challenges, and future prospects for battery recycling are then summarized. A reinterpreted 3R strategy entailing redesign, reuse, and recycling is recommended for the future development of battery recycling.

Toward sustainable and systematic recycling of spent rechargeable batteries

As more renewable energy is developed, energy storage is increasingly important and attractive, especially grid-scale electrical energy storage; hence, finding and implementing cost-effective and sustainable energy storage and conversion systems is vital. Batteries of various types and sizes are considered one of the most suitable approaches to store energy and extensive research exists for different technologies and applications of batteries; however, environmental impacts of large-scale battery use remain a major challenge that requires further study. In this paper, batteries from various aspects including design features, advantages, disadvantages, and environmental impacts are assessed. This review reaffirms that batteries are efficient, convenient, reliable and easy-to-use energy storage systems (ESSs). It also confirms that battery shelf life and use life are limited; a large amount and wide range of raw materials, including metals and non-metals, are used to produce batteries; and, the battery industry can generate considerable amounts of environmental pollutants (e.g., hazardous waste, greenhouse gas emissions and toxic gases) during different processes such as mining, manufacturing, use, transportation, collection, storage, treatment, disposal and recycling. Battery use at a large scale or grid-scale (>50 MW), which is widely anticipated, will have significant social and environmental impacts; hence, it must be compared carefully with alternatives in terms of sustainability, while focusing on research to quantify externalities and reduce risk. Alternatives such as pumped hydro and compressed air energy storage must be encouraged because of their low environmental impact compared to different types of batteries.

Study of energy storage systems and environmental challenges of batteries

Alkaline leaching of zinc from electric arc furnace steel dust

Chemical, physical, structural and morphological characterization of the electric arc furnace dust.

Hydrometallurgical extraction of zinc from zinc ferrites

Hydrometallurgical recovery of zinc and lead from electric arc furnace dust using mononitrilotriacetate anion and hexahydrated ferric chloride.

Results are reported of an experimental investigation of the effects of aqueous zinc(II) and sulfuric acid concentrations on current efficiencies and deposit morphologies of metallic zinc, aimed at designing a process for zinc recovery from solid industrial wastes by leaching and electrodeposition. Voltammetry and chronopotentiometry of additive-free solutions of zinc(II) sulfate and sulfuric acid were used to determine the zinc(II) reduction kinetics, prior to investigating the deposition in a Hull cell to observe the effects of the current density and the bath composition on current efficiencies and deposit morphologies. For a current density of 45 mA cm−2, best performance was obtained with zinc(II) concentrations of the same order of magnitude as the H+ concentration; too acidic solutions resulted in lower current yields and pronounced 3-D growth of the deposit.

Nathalie Leclerc

Papers

Hydrometallurgical extraction of zinc from zinc ferrites

Hydrometallurgical recovery of zinc and lead from electric arc furnace dust using mononitrilotriacetate anion and hexahydrated ferric chloride.

Investigation of optimal conditions for zinc electrowinning from aqueous sulfuric acid electrolytes

Direct recovery of cadmium and nickel from Ni-Cd spent batteries by electroassisted leaching and electrodeposition in a single-cell process

Electroleaching and electrodeposition of zinc in a single-cell process for the treatment of solid waste