Effect of electric field on leaching valuable metals from spent lithium-ion batteries

An electric field enhanced leaching process was proposed to improve the leaching efficiency in the process of extracting Li, Ni, Co and Mn from waste lithium ion batteries. The leaching process was optimized and the leaching mechanism was studied by means of leaching experiments, product characterization and leaching kinetics. Under the optimized leaching conditions, more than 98% Li, 97% Ni and Co and 93% Mn were leached into the solution. The study of leaching kinetics shows that the leaching process of Li, Ni, Co and Mn is controlled by chemical reaction based on nuclear reduction model, and the activation energy of leaching is determined to be 42.4, 46.1, 46.2 and 47.3 kJ/mol, respectively. During the leaching process, the application of electric field provides a convenient channel for the recycling of Fe2+ and Cl- in the solution, reduces the amount of reducing agent added, and ensures high metal leaching rate.