An Overview on the Recovery of Cobalt from End-of-life Lithium Ion Batteries

This study presents an up-to-date review on the methods and technologies applied for the recovery of Co from end-of-life Li-ion batteries. Considering the upcoming world demand for electric vehicles, it has been demonstrated that Co recycling from such batteries is technically feasible and vital in an attempt to provide a global supply of the metal. In this study, a number of recovery methods (including thermal, mechanical, and manual preprocessing, along with pyro- and hydrometallurgical methods) with distinct efficiency levels was described, several of which may be combined and associated between them in order to improve the overall Co separation and recovery performances.