Lithium battery crushing and sorting

How to reduce the risk in the crushing process of used lithium batteries?

To reduce the risk in the crushing process of used lithium batteries, 10 used lithium batteries (weighing approximately 1 kg) were first immersed in a NaCl solution with a mass fraction of 20 % and fully discharged for 24 h.

Can a hammer crusher crush lithium batteries?

Previous studies have been conducted using shredders or hammer crushers to crush waste lithium batteries, but it was found that the use of mechanical crushing would lead to low efficiency of the subsequent separation and extraction of metals and high energy consumption.

What happens if lithium ion batteries are destroyed?

The deliberate destruction of lithium-ion battery (LIB) cells leads to hazards due to the flammable electrolyte components or exothermal reactions caused by short circuits by the crushing tools and consequently toxic gas emissions.

What is the importance of crushing a battery?

Policies and ethics Crushing is a substantial process step for the following separation, as it transfers the battery cells or modules to a storable and conveyable bulk material. Crushing also leads to the opening of the battery cells and release of valuable materials.

What should be considered during a battery sorting process?

Typical side reactions that affect battery safety (e.g., lithium plating, SEI film thickening) or typical faults such as internal short circuits should be considered during the sorting process. In addition, predicting the battery life can help with determining the life trajectory of each sorted battery.

What happens if a battery is crushed?

In the case of crushing, the tools cause an external or internal short due to electrically conductive materials or contact of the electrodes. Discharging and short circuiting of the battery systems before disassembly and short circuiting of every module before crushing eliminates the stored energy and avoids joule heating.