Open Access Conference Proceedings

Today, Li-ion batteries (LIBs) play a vital role in reducing the consumption of fossil fuels. With the increasing production of LIBs, it is crucial to consider their recycling after reaching their end-of-life. Pyrometallurgy is a technique that can be employed for the recycling of LIBs, which deals with the formation of three phases: melt, slag, and gas. In-situ alloying by the addition of hematite to the LIB black mass was studied previously by the authors. The effect of slag composition in terms of CaO:SiO2 ratio on the aforementioned system in terms of the melting, slag/metal separation, and Li/F evaporation behavior has been investigated in this work. The CaO:SiO2 mass ratios of 0:100, 25:75, 50:50, 75:25, and 100:0 were tested in that system at a temperature of 1450 °C. Thermodynamic modeling with FactSage 8.0 supported the experimental work. From this qualitative study, it can be anticipated that by increasing the SiO2 amount, metallics coalesce more effectively, the probability of metal/slag separation increases, and Li evaporation is enhanced. The addition of CaO may result in the entrapment of Li within the Ca silicate structure and decrease its vapor partial pressure. Thermodynamic modeling revealed a consistent trend in the distribution of Li and F as the CaO:SiO2 ratio changed, suggesting the potential formation of gaseous compounds such as LiF.

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