inside develop new more efficient method

As technologies change, so do the challenges we will have to face in the future. Whereas in the past the focus in traffic was more on scrapping and reusing components from combustion engines, electric cars are likely to become part of everyday life in the future. However, recycling batteries is often a problem.

Strong acids are currently still used for this process, so materials such as lithium, nickel and cobalt can be used for a second time. However, the procedure is not exactly environmentally friendly and sometimes causes dangerous by-products. Thanks to researchers at the University of Leicester and Birmingham, that could soon change.

The newly developed method uses ultrasound waves and is said to be more environmentally friendly and at the same time up to 100 times faster than conventional methods, and recovered materials are also more pure. The approach is copied from the food preparation industry, raw materials are blasted off by electrodes, in this way pure aluminum and copper are produced.

These substances can then be used to manufacture new electrodes. The researchers even say that recycling and reuse can happen in the same place. For example, a battery manufacturer could take back its products at the end of their life cycle and manufacture new batteries from the waste and recycled materials.

Regardless of recycling, however, those manufacturers of battery technologies also have a responsibility. Sustainable recycling of raw materials can only happen if the entire life cycle is considered when designing the batteries. This could significantly reduce the amount of waste in the next few decades.

Own opinion:

The amount of battery waste is also likely to increase in the near future, more and more batteries find their way into our household every year. It is therefore important to recycle the raw materials, especially the rare earths, and good recyclability is also essential for the environmental balance of electric vehicles. Hopefully, the positive results of the research presented here will be considered in the next few years.

Via Eurek Alert