Repurposing Kraft black Liquor as Reductant for Enhanced Lithium-Ion Battery Leaching.

The economic advantages of H2SO4 make it the acid of choice for the hydrometallurgical treatment of waste lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, to facilitate the full dissolution of the higher valency metal oxides present in the cathode black mass, a suitable reducing agent is required. Herein, the application of industrial black liquor (BL) obtained from the Kraft pulping for papermaking is investigated as a renewable reducing agent for the enhanced leaching of transition metals from LIB powder with H2SO4. The addition of acidified BL to H2SO4 significantly improved the leaching efficiency for a range of LIB cathode chemistries, with the strongest effect observed for manganese-rich active material. Focusing on NMC111 (LiMnxCoyNizO2) material, a linear correlation between the BL concentration and the leaching yield of Mn was obtained, with the best overall leaching efficiencies being achieved for 2.0 mol L-1 H2SO4 and 50 vol % of BL at 353 K. A quasi-total degradation of oxygenated and aromatic groups from the BL during NMC111 dissolution was observed after leaching, suggesting that these chemical groups are essential for LIB reduction. Finally, the leached transition metals could be easily recovered by pH adjustment and oxalic acid addition, closing the resource loop and fostering resource efficiency.

Exploring the impact of sodium salts on hydrotropic solubilization.

Some ionic liquids (ILs) were shown to display a strong ability to enhance the solubility of phenolic compounds through hydrotropy. However, evidence shows that salt ions in hydrotropic aqueous solutions may change the behavior of molecules by promoting possible interactions between the components of the system, thus causing changes in solubility. Herein, we study the impact of sodium salt anions on the hydrotropic dissolution of syringic acid using 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([C4mim]Cl) as a hydrotrope, with a focus on dicyanamide Na[N(CN)2] and thiocyanate Na[SCN] salts. Dynamic light scattering, Raman spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy were used to investigate how the mixture of IL-salts affects the solvation. The results obtained show that [C4mim]Cl is able to increase the solubility of syringic acid 80-fold. Despite their structural similarities, the presence of Na[N(CN)2] or Na[SCN] in an aqueous solution of [C4mim]Cl induced opposite solubility trends. The addition of Na[N(CN)2] promotes a higher ability to solubilize syringic acid than in the corresponding IL system due to a pH buffering effect, resulting in the deprotonation of the solute. The addition of Na[SCN], on the other hand, induces a relative decrease in syringic acid solubilization at higher concentrations of ILs due to the negative contribution of the NaCl formed by anion-exchange. These results emphasise the often overlooked pH contribution provided by ILs for biomolecule solubilisation whilst providing experimental insights into the structure of aqueous solutions of ionic liquids and the role it plays in the formation of IL-salt aggregates.

Enhanced Dissolution of Metal Oxides in Hydroxylated Solvents - Towards Application in Lithium-Ion Battery Leaching.

The recovery of critical metals from spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is rapidly growing. Current methods are energy-intensive and hazardous, while alternative solvent-based strategies require more studies on their 'green' character, metal dissolution mechanism and industrial applicability. Herein, we bridged this gap by studying the effect of dilute HCl solutions in hydroxylated solvents to dissolve Co, Ni and Mn oxides. Ethylene glycol emerged consistently as the most effective solvent, dissolving up to four times more Co and Ni oxides than using aqueous acidic media, attributed to improved chloro-complex formation and solvent effects. These effects had a significant contribution compared to acid type and concentration. The highest Co dissolution (0.27 M) was achieved in 0.5 M HCl in 25 % (v/v) glycerol in water, using less acid and a significant amount of water compared to other solvent systems, as well as mild temperatures (40 °C). This solvent was applied to dissolve battery cathode material, achieving 100 % dissolution of Co and Mn and 94 % dissolution of Ni, following what was concluded to be a mixed mechanism. These results offer a simple alternative to current leaching processes, reducing acid consumption, enhancing atomic efficiency, and paving the way for optimized industrial hydrometallurgical processes leaning to 'greener' strategies.

Assessing the hydrotropic effect in the presence of electrolytes: competition between solute salting-out and salt-induced hydrotrope aggregation.

Water solubility enhancement is a long-standing challenge in a multitude of chemistry-related fields. Hydrotropy is a simple and efficient method to improve the solubility of hydrophobic molecules in aqueous media. However, the mechanism behind this phenomenon remains controversial. Herein the impact of salt doping on the hydrotropy phenomenon is determined experimentally using the ionic liquid (IL) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([C4mim]Cl) as a hydrotope and vanillin as a solute. Hydrophobic interactions were found to be central to the aggregation of the hydrotrope around the solute, and seem to drive hydrotropy. Furthermore, 1H-NMR analysis indicates that hydrotrope-solute interactions present a degree of site-specificity. The addition of chloride salts in the presence of higher IL concentrations promotes a greater relative decrease of the vanillin solubility than in the corresponding system without the IL. This was assigned to the negative impact of increased hydrotrope pre-aggregation in the presence of inorganic salts. The results were rationalised using statistical thermodynamics through which hydrotrope aggregation prior to solute addition is shown to be detrimental to the hydrotropic effect, seemingly confirming solute-induced clustering of the hydrotrope to be the predominant mechanism of hydrotropy.

Synthesis of Purine-Based Ionic Liquids and Their Applications.

Bio-based ionic liquids (ILs) are being increasingly sought after, as they are more sustainable and eco-friendly. Purines are the most widely distributed, naturally occurring N-heterocycles, but their low water-solubility limits their application. In this work, four purines (theobromine, theophylline, xanthine, and uric acid) were combined with the cation tetrabutylammonium to synthesize bio-based ILs. The physico-chemical properties of the purine-based ILs were characterized, including their melting and decomposition temperatures and water-solubility. The ecotoxicity against the microalgae Raphidocelis subcapitata was also determined. The ILs show good thermal stability (>457 K) and an aqueous solubility enhancement ranging from 53- to 870-fold, in comparison to their respective purine percursors, unlocking new prospects for their application where aqueous solutions are demanded. The ecotoxicity of these ILs seems to be dominated by the cation, and it is similar to chloride-based IL, emphasizing that the use of natural anions does not necessarily translate to more benign ILs. The application of the novel ILs in the formation of aqueous biphasic systems (ABS), and as solubility enhancers, was also evaluated. The ILs were able to form ABS with sodium sulfate and tripotassium citrate salts. The development of thermoresponsive ABS, using sodium sulfate as a salting-out agent, was accomplished, with the ILs having different thermosensitivities. In addition, the purine-based ILs acted as solubility enhancers of ferulic acid in aqueous solution.

A HNO3 -Responsive Aqueous Biphasic System for Metal Separation: Application towards CeIV Recovery.

An acidic aqueous biphasic system (AcABS) presenting a desired and reversible phase transition with HNO3 concentration and temperature was developed herein as an integrated platform for metal separation. The simple, economical, and fully incinerable (C,H,O,N) AcABS composed of tetrabutylammonium nitrate ([N4444 ][NO3 ])+HNO3 +H2 O was characterized and presented an excellent selectivity towards CeIV against other rare earth elements and transition metals from both synthetic solutions and nickel metal hydride (NiMH) battery leachates. The acid-driven self-assembly of AcABS bridges the gap between traditional ABS and liquid-liquid extraction whilst retaining their advantageous qualities, including compatibility with highly acidic solutions, water as the primary system component, the avoidance of organic diluents, rapid mass transfer, and the potential integration of the leaching and separation steps.

Green separation of lanthanum, cerium and nickel from waste nickel metal hydride battery.

In a circular economy context, there is a growing need for more sustainable waste management options to recover elements from end-of-life materials. These "secondary ores" represent a source of critical elements that are often present in higher concentration compared to their primary ore. In this work, the recovery of lanthanum (La) from waste nickel metal hydride battery (NiMH) leachate is investigated using an aqueous biphasic system (ABS) process based on a pluronic triblock copolymer (L35). An initial screening is performed to determine the influence of the ABS phase forming salt anion and alizarin red extractant on the La extraction efficiency and selectivity. From these results, a three-step ABS process is developed, varying only the nature of the salt and requiring no additional extractant. In a first step, the ABS composed of L35 + thiocyanate ammoniun + H2O efficiently extracts iron, manganese, and cobalt leaving La, cerium, and Ni in solution. Nickel is subsequently recovered by precipitation using dimethylglyoxime. Finally, La is separated from cerium using the L35 + ammonium nitrate + H2O ABS, recovering 62 g of La with 94% purity per kilogram of black mass of NiMH battery. This work highlights the applicability of ABS for the treatment of raw and complex matrices, potentially allowing for a greener hydrometallurgical treatment of wastes.

Using coarse-grained molecular dynamics to understand the effect of ionic liquids on the aggregation of Pluronic copolymer solutions.

This study is aimed to enhance the understanding of the interaction between ionic liquids (ILs) and non-ionic Pluronic triblock copolymers in aqueous two-phase micellar systems (ATPMS) used for the selective separation/purification of hydrophobic biomolecules. The ILs allow a precise control of the cloud point phase separation temperature (CPT), particularly important when the stability of the molecule is highly dependent on temperature. The effect of choline-based ILs, with two different counter-anions, chloride and hexanoate, was evaluated using molecular dynamics simulations (MD) for F-68 and L-35 Pluronic aqueous solutions. The simulations revealed the role played by the anions during the Pluronic self-assembly, with choline chloride hindering Pluronic aggregation and the choline hexanoate favouring micelle formation and coalescence, in agreement with the experimental data. A detailed study of the accessible surface area of Pluronic showed a progressive dehydration of the Pluronic hydrophilic micelle corona in choline hexanoate mixtures promoting inter-micelle interactions and, consequently, micelle coalescence. With the addition of choline hexanoate, it was observed that the hydrophilic segments, which form the micelle corona, twisted towards the Pluronic micelle core. The electrostatic interaction is also shown to play a key role in this IL-Pluronic aqueous solution, as the hexanoate anions are accommodated in the Pluronic micelle core, while the choline cations are hosted by the Pluronic micelle corona, with the ions interacting with each other during the self-assembly process. In addition, a comparison study of F-68 and L-35 aqueous solutions shows that the IL impact depends on the length of the Pluronic hydrophilic segment. This work provides a realistic microscopic scenario of the complex interactions between Pluronic copolymers and ILs.

Integrated Leaching and Separation of Metals Using Mixtures of Organic Acids and Ionic Liquids.

In this work, the aqueous phase diagram for the mixture of the hydrophilic tributyltetradecyl phosphonium ([P44414]Cl) ionic liquid with acetic acid (CH3COOH) is determined, and the temperature dependency of the biphasic region established. Molecular dynamic simulations of the [P44414]Cl + CH3COOH + H2O system indicate that the occurrence of a closed "type 0" biphasic regime is due to a "washing-out" phenomenon upon addition of water, resulting in solvophobic segregation of the [P44414]Cl. The solubility of various metal oxides in the anhydrous [P44414]Cl + CH3COOH system was determined, with the system presenting a good selectivity for CoO. Integration of the separation step was demonstrated through the addition of water, yielding a biphasic regime. Finally, the [P44414]Cl + CH3COOH system was applied to the treatment of real waste, NiMH battery black mass, being shown that it allows an efficient separation of Co(II) from Ni(II), Fe(III) and the lanthanides in a single leaching and separation step.

Using coarse-grained molecular dynamics to rationalize biomolecule solubilization mechanisms in ionic liquid-based colloidal systems.

Solubilizing agents are widely used to extract poorly soluble compounds from biological matrices. Aqueous solutions of surfactants and hydrotropes are commonly used as solubilizers, however, the underlying mechanism that determines their action is still roughly understood. Among these, ionic liquids (IL) are often used not only for solubilization of a target compound but in liquid-liquid extraction processes. Molecular dynamics simulations can shed light into this issue by providing a microscopic insight of the interactions between solute and solubilising agents. In this work, a new coarse-grained (CG) model was developed under the MARTINI framework for gallic acid (GA) while the CG models of three quaternary ammonium ionic liquids and salts (QAILS) were obtained from literature. Three QAILS were selected bearing in mind their potential solubilising mechanisms: trimethyl-tetradecylammonium chloride ([N1,1,1,14]Cl) as a surfactant, tetrabutylammonium chloride ([N4,4,4,4]Cl) as a hydrotrope, and tributyl-tetradecylammonium chloride ([N4,4,4,14]Cl) as a system combining the characteristics of the other compounds. Throughout this hydrotrope-to-surfactant spectrum and considering the most prevalent GA species across the pH range, the solvation of GA at two concentration levels in aqueous QAILS solutions were studied and discussed. The results of this study indicate that dispersive interactions between the QAILS and GA are generally the driving force in the GA solubilization. However, electrostatic interactions play an increasingly significant role as the GA becomes deprotonated, affecting their placement within the micelle and ultimately the solvation mechanism. The hydrotropic mechanism seen in [N4,4,4,4]Cl corroborates recent models based on the formation of a hydrotrope-solute aggregates driven by dispersive forces. This work contributes to the application of a transferable approach to partition and solubilization studies using molecular dynamics, which could complement experimental assays and quickly screen molecular candidates for these processes.

Unravelling the Interactions between Surface-Active Ionic Liquids and Triblock Copolymers for the Design of Thermal Responsive Systems.

The tunable properties of surface-active ionic liquids (SAILs) and Pluronics are dramatically magnified by combining them in aqueous solutions. The thermo-controlled character of both, essential in the extraction of valuable compounds, can be fine-tuned by properly selecting the Pluronic and SAIL nature. However, further understanding of the nanoscale interactions directing the aggregation in these complex mixtures is needed to effectively design and control these systems. In this work, a simple and transferable coarse-grained model for molecular dynamics simulations, based on the MARTINI force field, is presented to study the impact of SAILs in Pluronics aggregation in aqueous solutions. The diverse amphiphilic characteristics and micelle morphologies were exemplified by selecting four archetypical nonionic Pluronics-two normal, L-31 and L-35, and two reverse, 10R5 and 31R1. The impact of the alkyl chain length and the headgroup nature were evaluated with the imidazolium-based [C10mim]Cl and [C14mim]Cl and phosphonium-based [P4,4,4,14]Cl SAILs. Cloud point temperature (CPT) measurements at different Pluronic concentrations with 0.3 wt % of SAIL in aqueous solution emphasized the distinct impact of SAIL nature on the thermo-response behavior. The main effect of SAIL addition to nonionic Pluronics aqueous solutions is the formation of Pluronic/SAIL hybrid micelles, where the presence of SAIL molecules introduces a charged character to the micelle surface. Thus, additional energy is necessary to induce micelle aggregation, leading to the observed increase in the experimental CPT curves. The SAIL showed a relatively weak impact in Pluronic micelles with relatively high PPG hydrophobic content, whereas this effect was more evident when the Pluronic hydrophobic/hydrophilic strength is balanced. A detailed analysis of the Pluronic/SAIL micelle density profiles showed that the phosphonium head groups were positioned inside the micelle core, whereas smaller imidazolium head groups were placed much closer to the hydrophilic PEG corona, leading to a distinct effect on the cloud point temperature for those two classes of SAILs. Herein, the phosphonium-based SAIL induces a lower repulsion between neighboring micelles than the imidazolium-based SAILs, resulting in a less pronounced increase of the CPT. The model presented here offers, for the first time, an intuitive and powerful tool to unravel the complex thermo-response behavior of Pluronic and SAIL mixtures and support the design of tailor-made thermal controlled solvents.

Improved coarse-grain model to unravel the phase behavior of 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium-based ionic liquids through molecular dynamics simulations.

HYPOTHESIS: Imidazolium-based ionic liquids (ILs) in water exhibit a surfactant-like behavior that is only partially characterized by experimental techniques with molecular dynamic (MD) simulations emerging as a complimentary tool to study their phase behavior. However, while atomistic models suffer of time and size scale limitations, higher-level models (e.g. coarse-grain) are still of limited applicability, accuracy, and transferability. EXPERIMENTS: A robust and transferable CG model for 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium halides [Cnmim][X], using the MARTINI forcefield (FF), was proposed and validated against all-atom (AA) simulations and existing experimental data. A systematic study on the effect of the alkyl chain length, IL concentration, and temperature on the phase behavior of [Cnmim][Cl] aqueous solutions was performed. FINDINGS: At low amphiphile concentrations, the micellar regime extends from the critical micellar concentration (cmc) up to 10-25 wt%, depending on the alkyls chain length, where a sphere-to-rod transition is observed. The aggregation numbers of the spherical micelles were found to be in good agreement with experiments and, as the concentration was increased, a variety of mesophases was observed, providing useful insights into these systems. Furthermore, the segregation of IL moieties into polar and non-polar domains in ILs, possessing short alkyl tails, was demonstrated.

The Role of Charge Transfer in the Formation of Type I Deep Eutectic Solvent-Analogous Ionic Liquid Mixtures.

It was recently shown that tetramethylammonium chloride presented negative deviations to ideality when mixed with tetraethylammonium chloride or tetrapropylammonium chloride, leading to a strong decrease of the melting points of these salt mixtures, in a behavior akin to that observed in the formation of deep eutectic solvents. To better rationalize this unexpected melting point depression between two structurally similar compounds devoid of dominant hydrogen bonding capability, new solid-liquid equilibria data for tetramethylammonium-based systems were measured and analyzed in this work. Molecular dynamics was used to show that the strong negative deviations from ideality presented by these systems arise from a synergetic share of the chloride ions. A transfer of chloride ions seems to occur from the bigger cation in the mixture (which possesses a more disperse charge) to the smaller cation (tetramethylammonium), resembling the formation of metal-chloride complexes in type I deep eutectic solvents. This rearrangement of the charged species leads to an energetic stabilization of both components in the mixture, inducing the negative deviations to the ideality observed. The conclusions presented herein emphasize the often-neglected contribution of charge delocalization in deep eutectic solvents formation and its applicability toward the design of new ionic liquid mixtures.

Phenolic hydrogen bond donors in the formation of non-ionic deep eutectic solvents: the quest for type V DES.

Mixtures of non-ionic compounds have been reported as DES but most are just ideal mixtures. In the thymol-menthol system, an abnormal strong interaction was identified stemming from the acidity difference of the phenolic and aliphatic hydroxyl groups. This type of interaction is found to be the key to prepare non-ionic DES, that may be classified as type V.

Temperature-responsive extraction of violacein using a tuneable anionic surfactant-based system.

A tuneable thermoresponsive system based on combinations of sodium dodecyl sulfate surfactant with tetrabutylammonium chloride salt is presented as an integrated process for the solid-liquid extraction of violacein from bio-engineered Yarrowia lipolytica yeast and its purification by cloud-point separation from contaminant proteins.

Mechanisms of phase separation in temperature-responsive acidic aqueous biphasic systems.

The temperature responsive solubility of ionic liquids with 'bulky' polar regions, such as tributyltetradecyl phosphonium chloride ([P44414]Cl), in acidic aqueous solutions is elucidated through a combined experimental and computational approach. The temperature effect in the acidic aqueous biphasic system HCl/[P44414]Cl/H2O was characterised in the range 273 K to 373 K and was found to significantly deviate from the corresponding aqueous biphasic system with NaCl. A new transferable coarse grained MARTINI model for [P44414]Cl was developed, validated and applied to provide a molecular understanding of the experimental results. It is shown that the presence of large aliphatic moieties around the central phosphorus atoms of [P44414]Cl results in a decrease in the electrostatic repulsion between the cationic moieties, leading the [P44414]+ cation to present a behaviour conventionally associated with non-ionic surfactants. This difference in behaviour between HCl and NaCl was shown to result from the greater interaction of the hydronium cation with the micelle surface, thereby enhancing the [P44414]Cl aggregation.

Sustainable hydrophobic terpene-based eutectic solvents for the extraction and separation of metals.

Sustainable hydrophobic eutectic solvents, composed of low-priced and biodegradable terpenes and fatty acids, were used for the extraction and separation of Cu(ii) from other transition metals in mildly acidic solutions. Multiple parameters were evaluated for metal extraction and the hydrophobic eutectic solvent was successfully recovered and reused.

Understanding the fundamentals of acid-induced ionic liquid-based aqueous biphasic system.

Ionic-liquid-based aqueous biphasic systems (IL-based ABS) have demonstrated exceptional performance in bioseparation processes. However, IL-based ABS are of limited interest for metal extraction as most metals are not stable in their neutral or alkaline pH conditions. In the quest for better extraction systems for metals, the development of IL-based ABS with highly acidic solutions (AcABS), induced by the mixture of a hydrophilic IL ([P44414]Cl), a mineral acid (HCl, HNO3 or H2SO4) and water, opens new possibilities. A comprehensive investigation of fundamental aspects of IL-based AcABS was performed, including the temperature dependence of the phase diagrams, tie-lines and ion exchange behavior, evidencing the unique characteristics of these new systems. In particular, the favorable biphasic formation with an increase in temperature showcases the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) behavior of the phosphonium-based IL and opens many possibilities for AcABS application by creating stimuli responsive systems. The anion exchange identified highlights the IL-based AcABS complexity that renders the analytical characterization of the phases mandatory, instead of the traditional method coupling an empirical fit of the binodal with the lever-arm rule. Through judicious selection of the inorganic acid, different extraction systems can be obtained by tuning the degree of anion-exchange, underlining the versatility of the proposed AcABS system.

Mechanism of ionic-liquid-based acidic aqueous biphasic system formation.

Ionic-liquid-based acidic aqueous biphasic systems (IL-based AcABS) represent a promising alternative to the solvent extraction process for the recovery of critical metals, in which the substitution of the inorganic salt by an acid allows for a 'one-pot' approach to the leaching and separation of metals. However, a more fundamental understanding of AcABS formation remains wanting. In this work, the formation mechanisms of AcABS are elucidated through a comparison with traditional aqueous biphasic systems (ABS). A large screening of AcABS formation with a wide range of IL identifies the charge shielding of the cation as the primary structural driver for the applicability of an IL in AcABS. Through a systematic study of tributyltetradecylphosphonium chloride ([P44414]Cl) with various chloride salts and acids, we observed the first significant deviation to the cationic Hofmeister series reported for IL-based ABS. Furthermore, the weaker than expected salting-out ability of H3O+ compared to Na+ is attributed to the greater interaction of H3O+ with the [P44414]+ micelle surface. Finally, the remarkable thermomorphic properties of [P44414]Cl based systems are investigated with a significant increase in the biphasic region induced by the increase in the temperature from 298 K to 323 K. These finding allows for the extension of ABS to new acidic systems and highlights their versatility and tunability.

Ionic-Liquid-Based Acidic Aqueous Biphasic Systems for Simultaneous Leaching and Extraction of Metallic Ions.

The first instance of an acidic aqueous biphasic system (AcABS) based on tributyltetradecyl phosphonium chloride ([P44414 ][Cl]) and an acid is here reported. This AcABS exhibits pronounced thermomorphic behavior and is shown to be applicable to the extraction of metal ions from concentrated acidic solutions. Metal ions such as cobalt(II), iron(III), platinum(IV) and nickel(II) are found to partition preferentially to one of the phases of the acidic aqueous biphasic system and it is here shown that it successfully allows the difficult separation of CoII from NiII , here studied at 24 and 50 °C.