Economic optimization of pre-treatments and operative conditions for leaching critical raw materials from lithium-ion batteries black mass

The growing demand for critical raw materials like lithium, cobalt, manganese, and nickel, driven by the use of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), emphasizing the need for more sustainable supply chains. Hydrometallurgical recycling offers a way to reduce reliance on primary resources but faces challenges such as high energy consumption and toxic emissions. Organic acids, like acetic and ascorbic acids, represent more environmentally friendly alternatives but are hindered by slow kinetics and high costs (Gerold et al., 2022). Acetic acid is cost-effective but needs reducing agents like hydrogen peroxide or ethanol, increasing overall costs. While, ascorbic acid, though more expensive, doesn’t require these reagents. To address these challenges, microwave-assisted carbothermal reduction has been proposed as a pre-treatment to reduce the valence state of metals in the black mass, improving their leaching efficiency (Fahimi et al., 2023). This study compares acetic and ascorbic acid leaching, with and without microwave carbothermal reduction as a pre-treatment, to identify the most cost-effective and efficient approach for leaching critical raw materials from LIBs black mass.