MCM's expertise, experience and procedures enable it to organize the transport hazardous waste materials according to European Waste Shipment Regulations. This involves contracts with recipients for the transportation of the material, as well as permits from transit countries. We will also assist in the completion of all required documentation. This is a vital step to ensure that the shipment of dangerous materials goes smoothly. All rules and regulations concerning the transportation of hazardous substances are adhered to.
To achieve a circular economy, it is essential to recover the active materials from lithium-ion cells and reintegrate them into the manufacturing processes. 'Design for disassembly’ is being used in this regard to increase and improve material recovery rates.
The design of the paste is essential. Here, the selection of suitable binder systems is paramount, as these strongly influence the electrochemical performance and the disassembly behaviour of the LIB. In this research, two water based renewable biodegradable binding systems - sodiumalginate and carboxymethylcellulose with styrenebutene for flexibility – were examined for use in both tape cast and direct printed LIBs. Both binder system showed excellent compatibility with LiFePO4 when printing coatings, using draw-down as well direct ink writing. However, to prevent the inks from settling during extrusion it was necessary for them to be rheologically changed. This was achieved by adding 1-octanol in the amount of 0.5 wt% to the printed inks.
Both bindings systems were found compatible with the desired electrostructure of LIBs for direct and tape-cast printing. They also showed high performance in terms of electrochemistry. However, the CMC/SBR inks showed poor shear thinning behaviour when tested at low shear rates, while the NaAlg-based inks displayed excellent shear thinning properties up to shear rates of about 2 s-1. The NaAlg-based inks were therefore chosen as the preferred binder for direct writing of inks because they allowed for the preparation patterned electrodes.
The majority of LIB production wastes are in a relatively pristine state and can be easily separated and processed without requiring complex disassembly. LIB scraps are therefore ideal for direct recycling. The active materials and current collectors can easily be separated using a physico-chemical process. This is being achieved by a number of different methods. These include a number chemical and mechanical processes that can reduce disassembly time and temperature. The methods are dependent on chemistry and require a detailed characterisation of the degraded materials. This new research area is promising, but still in its infancy. In order to have a successful direct recycling process, it is necessary to understand the interaction of the active materials with the binder.
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