Circular raw materials and waste management: comparison of biological and chemical approach for recovery of metals from spent lithium-ion batteries
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Article text_Urbanska W., Potysz A., GGE 2025.pdf (2.39 MB)
0000-0002-6523-7629 Date
2025
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AGH University Press
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Modern production processes are characterized by the extensive metal demand for the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries used in electronic equipment and electric vehicles. These products are essential for the functioning of current society, therefore the demand for metallic raw materials increases every year and their natural resources are overexploited. The solution to this issue is the recovery of raw materials from polymetallic waste, which includes spent lithium-ion batteries. The extraction of metals from this type of waste material has already been implemented on an industrial scale, but the priority now is to create technologies that will not only be effective in terms of metal recovery but also environmentally friendly following sustainable development goals and a circular economy. Concerning the need for alternative ecological methods of waste processing, the concept of recovering Co, Cu, Li and Ni from waste lithium-ion batteries using a biotic and mild chemical approach was proposed. It has been specified that the biological approach to metal recovery may be a promising process in the recycling of lithium-ion battery waste, where, within 7 days, at a pulp density of 1% and using Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans bacteria, comparable results were obtained for the recovery of Co (25.7%), Li (48.8%) and Ni (28.3%) as for leaching with mild organic citric acid. Moreover, the fungus Aspergillus niger may be a promising microorganism used in the bioleaching of electrode powder from spent Li-ion batteries, however, the process using it requires optimization of bioreactor parameters.
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Urbańska W., Potysz A. Circular raw materials and waste management: comparison of biological and chemical approach for recovery of metals from spent lithium-ion batteries. Geology, Geophysics and Environment 2025, 51 (1), 59–70.