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Summary
Among the common recycling methods for lithium battery materials, pyrometallurgy recycling leads to high energy consumption and carbon emission levels, and hydrometallurgy recycling generates many toxic byproducts. As a result, there are serious challenges to managing wastes in a harmless manner. In this study, a combination of ball milling pretreatment and eddy current separation is used to replace heat treatment in traditional lithium battery recovery methods to reduce the energy consumption and secondary pollution levels. A new eddy current separation motion model is established, and the effects of the shape coefficient and air resistance on the separation trajectory of battery materials are quantified. Theoretical and experimental results show that metal fragments suitable for carrying eddy currents are attainable by treating electrode plates with a 20 mm abrasive for 60 s. The recovery rates for copper, aluminum, and lithium iron phosphate reach 95.9%, 97.1%, and 93.4%, respectively, when the rotating speed of the magnetic rotor is 1000 rpm, and the shape coefficient of the material is 1.5. Therefore, eddy current separation is a promising method for separating metals and electrode materials from the electrode plates of lithium iron phosphate batteries.
