Lithium-ion batteries have grow to be integral to on a regular basis life, particularly in South Africa, which, till March this yr, had been subjected to extreme load shedding.
But the flexibility for customers to recycle the lithium batteries they’ve purchased to assist them by the rolling blackouts, as soon as they reached their finish of life, has been constrained by a scarcity of recycling services in South Africa.
Johannesburg-based Cwenga Lib is hoping to alter that with a brand new processing facility in Germiston. The corporate declined to reveal how a lot it invested within the plant.
The journey of a lithium-ion battery on the facility begins with assortment. Batteries are gathered by numerous means, together with partnerships with casual collectors, serving to handle waste administration points throughout Gauteng.
As soon as collected, the batteries bear shredding, which exposes the dear metal-containing black mass at their core. From there, the black mass enters a proprietary hydrometallurgical course of, the place a mix of food-safe chemical compounds is used to leach out metals resembling lithium, manganese, nickel and cobalt.
Not like conventional strategies that depend on pyrometallurgy and excessive temperatures, Cwenga Lib’s facility operates at room temperature, making it safer for operators and extra possible within the South African context.
Purified and separated
The extracted metals are then purified and separated utilizing a sequence of ion-exchange columns, using know-how akin to chromatography. This methodology permits it to get better beneficial supplies whereas minimising environmental affect.
The power makes use of a modular design, so as an alternative of constructing large, centralised vegetation, it deploys small, modular items that may be simply scaled and tailored based mostly on necessities. This flexibility permits for the recycling of batteries the place they’re discarded, eliminating the logistical challenges and environmental hazards of transporting used batteries throughout borders.
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Every modular unit has the capability to course of a sure quantity of batteries, however the design permits for future enlargement. “We envisage many of those small-scale vegetation all through Southern Africa and past,” stated Cwenga Lib director Jenny Falconer.
Cwenga Lib’s focus is on cobalt-containing batteries, also referred to as NMC (nickel, manganese, cobalt) batteries, however plans are beneath technique to broaden the method to deal with all lithium-ion batteries, no matter their chemical composition. This broader functionality shall be important because the trade shifts in direction of new battery applied sciences with fewer cobalt parts.
The expansion of the electrical automobile market is driving demand for lithium-ion battery recycling. Laws within the EU now mandates that by 2031, at the very least 16% of the cobalt utilized in batteries should come from recycled sources, with this determine rising to 26% by 2036.
To minimise its environmental footprint, Cwenga Lib has adopted inexperienced practices. The chemical compounds used within the recycling course of are reused and are apparently inherently protected. Moreover, the method is designed to function with minimal water utilization. Liquid waste that can’t be reused is managed responsibly by a third-party waste firm, although these volumes are small in comparison with the hazardous waste diverted from landfills.
Learn: South Africa faces lithium battery recycling headache
Moreover, the ability has prevented energy-intensive strategies like pyrometallurgy, which not solely pose security dangers for staff however are additionally much less possible in areas like South Africa, the place vitality prices are excessive.
As demand for recycled supplies grows, notably with the rise in demand for EVs, the ability plans additional enlargement. Quickly it expects to deploy between 5 and 10 modular items throughout South Africa and it might additionally broaden later into neighbouring nations. – © 2024 NewsCentral Media
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