Recovery of Lithium from Waste Box Sagger Through Sulfation and Wet Conversion Methods

To supplement the increasing demand for Li resources dictated by the growing market for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), this study aimed to secure lithium carbonate (Li 2 CO 3 ) using a waste box sagger generated from the process of manufacturing cathode materials for LIBs. Li was recovered through sulfation and subsequent wet conversion into high-purity Li 2 CO 3 . Li extractability (93%) from the waste box sagger powder was determined by the sulfation reaction using 5 M H 2 SO 4 and H 2 O leaching of the resultant. The precipitation efficiency (85%) of Li into Li 3 PO 4 in extracted Li solution was established using a NaOH and H 3 PO 4 mixture. The maximum conversion efficiency (99%) of Li 3 PO 4 to LiCl solution was calculated using a reflux method with CaCl 2 solution at a solid (g)/liquid (L) ratio of 100. The highest Li + concentration reached 50800 mg/L at a solid/liquid ratio of 400 and Cl/Li molar ratio of 0.95 in the range of tested conditions. Finally, high-purity Li 2 CO 3 (99.8% in metal basis) was produced from the obtained Li solution through purification using NaOH, followed by carbonation using sodium carbonate (Na 2 CO 3 ). The proposed method demonstrates the feasibility of securing a Li resource by recycling waste box sagger instead of disposing them as a designated waste.