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Nanoengineer Finds New Way To Recycle Lithium-Ion Batteries (latimes.com)

Zheng Chen, a 31-year-old nanoengineer at UC San Diego, says he has developed a way to recycle used cathodes from spent lithium-ion batteries and restore them to a like-new condition. The cathodes in some lithium-ion batteries are made of metal oxides that contain cobalt, a metal found in finite supplies and concentrated in one of the world's more precarious countries. Los Angeles Times reports how it works: The process takes degraded particles from the cathodes found in a used lithium-ion battery. The particles are then pressurized in a hot alkaline solution that contains lithium salt. Later, the particles go through a short heat-treating process called annealing, in which temperatures reach more than 1,400 degrees Fahrenheit. After cooling, Chen's team takes the regenerated particles and makes new cathodes. They then test the cathodes in batteries made in the lab. The new cathodes have been able to maintain the same charging time, storage capacity and battery lifetime as the originals did. Details of the recycling method were recently published in the research journal Green Chemistry, submitted by Chen and two colleagues.

29 of 72 comments (clear)

  1. more good news for EV's! by polar+red · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This should make EV's more price-competitive! take out your tesla battery after 300,000 km for a refresh and your car is as good as new!

    --
    Yes, I'm left. You have a problem with that?
    1. Re:more good news for EV's! by mentil · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The key question is if this process can be done cheaply enough that it's cheaper to recycle lithium-ion batteries than to just make new ones. Of course the process could be government-subsidized/mandated for environmental reasons. Ideally, a way to achieve this process inside the battery itself would be possible (without causing it to explode).

      --
      Corruption is convincing someone that the selfless ideal is the same as their selfish ideal.
    2. Re:more good news for EV's! by TFlan91 · · Score: 1

      Just yesterday did you think this process itself was possible?

    3. Re:more good news for EV's! by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 1

      The key question is if this process can be done cheaply enough that it's cheaper to recycle lithium-ion batteries than to just make new ones.

      That is a short-term concern.

      Of course the process could be government-subsidized/mandated for environmental reasons.

      Welcome to long-term planning. :)

      Ideally, a way to achieve this process inside the battery itself would be possible (without causing it to explode).

      That's some next level shit and I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it.

      --
      Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
    4. Re:more good news for EV's! by drinkypoo · · Score: 4, Informative

      The batteries are already recycled. What isn't recycled is the electrolyte. I was all excited when I read the headline until I found out that it was bullshit. He found out how to recycle part of Li-Ion batteries. But the biggest part currently not being recycled is the electrolyte...

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    5. Re: more good news for EV's! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You mean the way the markets provide cheap, affordable healthcare in the US? One of my medications is so expensive without insurance that it's cheaper to fly to Europe round trip and by a 3 month supply there than it is to go to the pharmacy down the road.

    6. Re:more good news for EV's! by fendragon · · Score: 1

      The best thing for EV batteries when they are no longer good for EV use is second life battery projects reusing them for less demanding applications like static energy storage. When they can no longer deliver bursts of high current they can still hold lots of charge and be useful for years, for example balancing supply and demand in a house running on solar electricity. Maybe after they're no good for that either they'll be worth dismantling and recycling.

  2. Re: Trump Gonna Get It Now by c6gunner · · Score: 4, Insightful

    To be fair, it's not much of a negotiation for him.

    It's like convincing a salesman to let you take a Ferrari for a test drive. If you're a homeless junkie who hasn't showered in two weeks, you better be one hell of a negotiator. Whereas if you're a millionaire with a nice suit, all you have to do is ask.

  3. Re: ATTN: Nobel Selection Committee by c6gunner · · Score: 1

    I was going to say this isn't really Nobel Prize material, but then I remembered they have a peace prize ...

  4. Re: Really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I removed myself from the jean-pool, and all I got was charged with indecent exposure.

  5. Re: A chemistry is performed by omnichad · · Score: 4, Informative

    Creating new, non-recycled batteries already requires smelting. And requires almost 2800 degrees Fahrenheit for cobalt.

  6. Re: Really? by omnichad · · Score: 1

    Maybe stop swimming naked with guys named Jean.

  7. Re: Really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I once jumped into a jean-pool, but i got cought in the zippers. Almost drowned.

  8. Re:Ahh.. em sometimes I wonder about editors by omnichad · · Score: 1

    with free egress and ingress.

    From what I hear, this is not an accurate description of the 405.

  9. Re:Nanoengineer by reboot246 · · Score: 1

    No, he's just really, really, really, really short.

  10. Re: A chemistry is performed by rally2xs · · Score: 1

    Depends on how you generate the heat. What if you used waste heat from something else? Or better yet, a solar furnace - many, many, many sun-tracking mirrors focused on a single spot, 2800 degrees shouldn't be impossible. Just take up a lot of desert...

  11. Re: ATTN: Nobel Selection Committee by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Miffed because they awarded the peace prize to Kissinger (firebombing) and Obama (drones), or do you think it's bullshit for some other reason?

  12. Finite supplies? by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

    [...] cobalt, a metal found in finite supplies [...]

    As long as we are stuck on this planet, everything is in finite supplies.

    --
    #DeleteFacebook
    1. Re: Finite supplies? by Kjella · · Score: 1

      As long as weâ(TM)re stuck in this galaxy, everything is in finite amounts. Maybe we should just get used to that?

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
    2. Re:Finite supplies? by Zumbs · · Score: 1

      If we are being pedantic, everything is in finite supplies in this solar system/galaxy/universe ;-)

      --
      The truth may be out there, but lies are inside your head
  13. Re:Nanoengineer by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 1

    No, he's just really, really, really, really short.

    Like the Nano Doctor on Rick and Morty.

    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
  14. Try a mini engineer by Going_Digital · · Score: 1

    If they got a miniengineer they could do this on a much larger scale.

    1. Re:Try a mini engineer by blakec · · Score: 1

      I had no idea that there were nanoengineers; I thought that micro was the smallest.

  15. Question by M0j0_j0j0 · · Score: 1

    What is a Fahrenheit?

    1. Re:Question by M0j0_j0j0 · · Score: 1

      200 ? Nonono that's too much to just boil water, too expensive.

  16. Re: A chemistry is performed by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

    What if you used waste heat from something else?

    280F is waste heat. 2800F is not.
     

  17. Re: A chemistry is performed by rally2xs · · Score: 1

    Steelmaking... but then it probably wouldn't be "waste" heat...

  18. Forget the batteries by Waffle+Iron · · Score: 1

    The real news in this story is that they've apparently shrunk an engineer down to the scale of a few dozen angstrom units. How did they do that? There must be a huge number of applications for such a compact engineer.

  19. Re:And what's that in metric? by Solandri · · Score: 1

    TFA is the Los Angeles Times, so doubtless they converted the number to Fahrenheit for their readers. The original paper probably gives it in Celsius, but is paywalled so I can't confirm.

    If you can find an international reference news article about a researcher in UC San Diego which retains the number in Celsius, you should submit that as an alternative source article. Otherwise, you must be new here if you're expecting the editors to convert Imperial to Metric in story submissions.