Speaker
Description
Circular Economy is a regenerative approach to reduce the waste generated and guarantee the eco-sustainability of post-use products. When a product reaches the end of its life, it is reused to generate high added-value materials, which reduces both the need for primary materials and waste production [1]. This explains the growing interest among the scientific community to develop and optimize different methods for recycling and reuse waste, especially hazardous waste which requires an adequate management.
Batteries are currently used in many electronic devices, including electric and hybrid vehicles. Spent batteries contain heavy metals which may seep out, negatively affecting the environment and human health. Leaching process has successfully been described as a method to dissolve metals present in the black mass, a commonly waste generated in the recycling of the batteries. Previous investigations showed that it is possible to obtain highly pure materials from black mass. However, after the leaching process a large amount of insoluble residues remain, mainly composed of carbon. This carbonaceous residue is an excellent precursor which can be turned into a high added-value material such as graphite, which is used in a great variety of electrochemical applications due to its electrical and thermal conductivity, inertness and resistance [2]. In this work, we report on an easy process to obtain good quality graphite from different black masses from Zn-C and Li-ion batteries, as well as a detailed characterization of its structure and morphology.
References:
[1] Bahar Moradi and Gerardine G. Botte, Recycling of graphite anodes for the next generation of lithium ion batteries, J. Appl. Electrochem. 46, (2016) 123-148.
[2] Mathis Wissler, Graphite and carbon powders for electrochemical applications, J. Power Sources 156 (2006) 142-150.
Funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program through Grant No. 776851 (Car-E Service) is acknowledged.
| Speaker Country | Spain |
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