Doosan develops new technology to extract lithium from spent batteries

South Korea's Doosan Group has succeeded in developing a new technology for recovering lithium carbonate by recycling waste batteries.

Lithium carbonate, a key material that is used in batteries for the generation of electricity and charging, is widely applied in electronic devices such as laptops and mobile phones.

The extraction of lithium from spent batteries is generally achieved by the process of heat treatment, acid leaching (an acidic solution used for the melting of materials) and crystallisation, which usually involves the use of chemicals such as sulphuric acid.

The company has developed a new lithium extracting technique that does not require the use of any chemicals. This involves heat treatment of the battery materials, selective separation of lithium using distilled water and the use of electro-absorption crystallisation technology to recover the lithium carbonate.

The technology, for which Doosan has filed a patent, is simpler and more economical than existing methods. It is also environment-friendly as no chemicals are used.

Starting in the second half of this year, Doosan will be embarking on various projects, such as a demonstration facility with an annual capacity to treat 1,500 tonnes of spent batteries and the production of lithium carbonate with a 99% purity.

“With the development of this technology, we have now acquired an environment-friendly, resource-saving processing technology that generates noticeably fewer greenhouse gases compared to the existing lithium mining methods,” said Yongjin Song, CSO of Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, adding that the company plans to aggressively target the domestic used battery recycling market, which is forecast to grow rapidly to the size of 19,000 tons by 2029.”

As a plant specialist in the power and water industry, Doosan Heavy offers energy solutions for thermal power, nuclear power and renewable energy. The company is actively leading the efforts to establish a 'circular economy' with its waste processing technologies, such as the technology for spent battery recycling and hydrogen production based on waste plastic and vinyl.

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