Carbon emission assessment of lithium iron phosphate batteries throughout lifecycle under communication base station in China.

The demand for lithium-ion batteries has been rapidly increasing with the development of new energy vehicles. The cascaded utilization of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries in communication base stations can help avoid the severe safety and environmental risks associated with battery retirement. This study conducts a comparative assessment of the environmental impact of new and cascaded LFP batteries applied in communication base stations using a life cycle assessment method. It analyzes the influence of battery costs and power structure on carbon emissions reduction. Results indicate: When consuming the same amount of electricity in a cascaded battery system (CBS), LFP batteries with a retirement state of health (SOH) range between 76.5 % and 90.0 % can reduce 30.3 % of the global warming potential (GWP) compared to new batteries. From the perspective of battery costs, when the price ratio of new to old batteries is greater than 31.0 %, the GWP of batteries retired at 70.0 % SOH is higher than that of new batteries. As the proportion of renewable energy sources in the power structure increases, the GWP of new batteries in 2035 is 15.0 % lower than in 2020. For batteries retired at 80.0 % SOH, their GWP decreases by 12.3 % compared to 2020. This study offers a new approach to determining the retirement point for LFP batteries from an environmental perspective, promoting carbon emission reduction throughout the entire battery life cycle and the sustainable development of the transportation sector.

Chemical-Free Recycling of Cathode Material and Aluminum Foil from Waste Lithium-Ion Batteries by Combining Plasma and Ultrasonic Technology.

With the rapid demand for lithium-ion batteries due to the widespread application of electric vehicles, a significant amount of battery electrode pieces requiring urgent treatment are generated during battery production and disposal. The strong bonding caused by the presence of binders makes it challenging to achieve thorough separation between the cathode active materials and Al foil, posing difficulties in efficient battery material recycling. To address this issue, a plasma-ultrasonically combined physical separation method is proposed in this study. This method utilizes plasma-generated excited-state radicals assisted by ultrasonic waves to separate active materials and current collectors. The results indicate that the binders are effectively decomposed under plasma treatment at 13.56 MHz, 100 W, and 10 min in an oxygen atmosphere, resulting in a separation efficiency of 96.8 wt % for the cathode materials. Characterization results demonstrate that the morphology, crystal structure, and chemical composition of the recycled cathode active materials remain unchanged, facilitating subsequent direct restoration and hydrometallurgical recycling. Simultaneously, the Al foil is also completely recycled for subsequent reuse. Compared with traditional methods of separating cathode active materials and aluminum foil, the method proposed in this study has significant economic and environmental potential. It can promote the recycling of battery materials and the development of sustainable transportation.