Beijing Institute of Technology, April 12th, 2020:Applications and demands of emerging technologies such as new energy vehicles and large-scale energy storage make more attention to electrode materials, electrolytes and diaphragm needed to develop high-performance secondary batteries, but ignore the importance of resource regeneration and recycling of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and next-generation rechargeable batteries for sustainable industrial development. Because of the dual attributes of environmental hazards and resource value of decommissioned power batteries, battery recycling should be considered when vigorously developing battery systems. However, for the upcoming power battery decommissioning tide, the development of low-cost, high-efficiency, short-process lithium ion battery sustainable recovery technology is still facing severe challenges.

　　The team of academician Wu Feng of School of Materials Science and Engineering of BIT has done a lot of innovative research work on battery recycling and recycling for many years. Recently, a review paper entitled Sustainable Recycling Technology for Li-Ion Batteries and Beyond：Challenges and Future Prospects was published online in the top international journal Chemical Reviews (Impact Factor 54.301).

Figure 1 Rechargeable battery failure mechanism (left) and lithium ion battery recovery process (right)

　　Start from the point of view of sustainable development, the author deeply analyzes and evaluates the market competitiveness of decommissioned power batteries from economic, environmental, resource and policy perspectives —— Electric vehicles and traditional fuel vehicles, and studies the internal relationship between the failure mechanism of rechargeable batteries (the failure causes and action mechanism of positive electrode, negative electrode, electrolyte and diaphragm) and battery recovery technology (from traditional pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy and other recovery technologies)(in figure 1). A comprehensive assessment of the battery ladder was made from four perspectives: economic feasibility, environmental impact, technology and safety.

　　Based on the laws, regulations and policies of mandatory or guiding documents, the battery recovery management models in the United States, Germany, Japan and China are analyzed. The research shows that battery life cycle management is very important for the establishment of waste battery traceability management platform and the formulation of recovery policy. The writer has analysised about the life cycle assessment of rechargeable batteries start from the perspective of strategic resources and economic needs, and proposed three strategies (Redesign、Reuse、Recycle) and 4H principles (High efficiency、High economic return、High environmental benefit、High safety) are proposed(in figure 2), and pointed out the future new challenges and development prospects for the sustainability of rechargeable batteries.

Fig .2 3R strategies and 4H principles for recycling batteries

　　Dr. Fan Ersha in School of Material Science and Engineering of BIT is the first author, Professor Li Li is the co-author, Professor Chen Renjie and Academician Wu Feng are the co-authors. The main research work of this paper and the team in the last two years on battery recycling is as follows:
1. Chem. Rev., 2020, DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.9b00535 (IF="54.301," First author: Dr. Van Ersha)
2. Green Chem., 2019, DOI: DOI: 10.1039/c9gc01350d (IF= 9.405, First author: Dr. Lin Jiao)
3. ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng. 2019, DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.9b03054
(IF="6.970,"First author: Dr. Van Ersha)
4. Waste Manage., 2019, DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2019.01.012 (IF="5.431," First author: Professor Li Li)
5. Chem. Soc. Rev., 2018, DOI: 10.1039/c8cs00297e (IF="40.443," Cover article; first author: Dr. Zhang Xiaoxiao)
6. ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng. 2018, DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.8b02503
(IF="6.970," First author: Dr. Van Ersha)
7. ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng. 2018, DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.7b04373
(IF="6.970," First author: Dr. Zhang Xiaoxiao)
8. Electro. Ener. Rev., 2018, DOI: 10.1007/s41918-018-0012-1 (First author: Professor Li Li）
The above research results are supported by project funds such as the National Key R & D Program, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Outstanding Young Scientists Program of Beijing University and the Innovation Talent Support Program of BIT.

Author's brief:

Fan Ersha, born in September 1990, is currently a doctoral graduate student in materials science and engineering at BIT, and his tutor is Professor Li Li. The research direction is lithium ion battery recycling and resource reuse, focusing on the development of multi-disciplinary cross-disciplinary basic research and application research such as new energy materials, material regeneration, hydrometallurgy and resource reuse; also she participates as a research backbone in the National Natural Science Foundation of China, national key R & D programs and other major scientific research projects; and as the first author (or student first author) in Chemical Reviews, published 6 academic papers in ACS Sustainable Chemistry &Engineering and other domestic and foreign journals, the impact factor cumulative 75. She cooperatively published SCI 10 papers, many times to participate in domestic academic conferences and do academic reports or wall newspaper exchange.

　　Li li, professor of materials college, PhD tutor, deputy director of technical expert committee of strategic alliance of electric vehicle power battery recycling, member of electric energy storage professional committee of China Institute of Electrical Engineering, member of national professional standardization technical committee, member of expert committee of battery recycling and reuse branch of china industrial energy saving and cleaner production association, member of expert committee of China renewable resource industry technology innovation strategic alliance, etc., were selected for the new century outstanding talents of ministry of education, Beijing outstanding talents and Beijing science and technology new star program. She mainly engaged in the field of retired new energy vehicles and energy storage power battery green efficient recovery and recycling, green secondary battery attenuation mechanism and failure analysis, new system potassium ion battery, advanced energy materials design and quantitative simulation and other research. She undertook national 863 program, national 973 program, national natural science foundation and other topics. She has published 105 SCI papers in domestic and foreign academic journals, applied for 13 national invention patents ,9 of which were authorized, and made more than 80 special invitations / conference reports at domestic and foreign academic conferences, and served as chairman of the lithium ion battery recycling technology branch of several bilateral meetings between China and the United States.

　　Chen Renjie, Professor of the School of Materials Science and Engineering, PhD tutor, member of the professional group of national ministries, member of the China Institute of Materials Research (Secretary General of the Energy Conversion and Storage Materials Branch), member of the China Solid State Ion Society, member of the Committee of the International Electrochemical Energy Science Society (IAOEES), member of the Royal Society of Chemistry. Mainly engaged in multi-electron high specific energy secondary battery new system and lithium sulfur battery key materials, new ionic liquid and functional electrolyte materials, special functional power supply composite solid-state secondary battery devices and thin film materials, green secondary battery recycling and utilization. Responsible for the National Natural Science Foundation of China project, the Ministry of Science and Technology R & D projects, major science and technology projects in Beijing, etc. He has published more than 200 SCI papers (more than 60 in IF>10); applied for 83 invention patents and 35 were authorized ;7 software copyrights and 2 academic monographs. As the main completion person, won the national technical invention second prize 1, the ministerial level science and technology first prize 3. He also was selected to the Ministry of Education in the new century outstanding talents, Beijing outstanding talents, Beijing science and technology star, Beijing institutions of higher learning outstanding young scientists and other programs, and won the evaluation of "China's engineering frontier outstanding young scholars ".

　　Wu Feng, distinguished Professor and PhD tutor of BIT, Academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering, Academician of International Eurasian Academy of Sciences, Academician of Asia-Pacific Academy of Materials, Deputy Director of Academic Committee of BIT, Dean of Qiushi College of BIT, Chief Professor of Energy and Environmental Materials, Director and Chief Scientist of Clean Energy, Beijing Electric Vehicle Collaborative Innovation Center. He is one of the academic leaders in the field of green secondary batteries and related materials in China has long been engaged in the research and development of new secondary batteries and related energy materials. He has undertaken the national key basic research (973) program, the national high technology (863) program, the national science and technology research program, the national natural science foundation and other projects. Also, he has published more than 480 papers in Chem.Rev., Adv.Mater.,Nature Commun., Nano Lett. and other well-known academic journals SCI including, licensing more than 90. He is the first successful person was awarded the second prize of national technological invention and the second prize of national scientific and technological progress, and the first prize of ministerial science, technology and technological invention. And he successively won HeLiangheli Foundation Science and Technology Progress Award, International Battery Materials Society (IBA) Research Achievement Award, American Electrochemical Society (ECS) Battery Technology Achievement Award, International Association of Lithium Batteries (IALB) Outstanding Foundation and Application Research Award, Lifetime Achievement Award. On the other hand, he is the vice Chairman of China Battery Industry Association, Vice Chairman of China Chemical and Physical Power Industry Association, Member of the Board of 100 Chinese Electric Vehicles Association, Member of the National Expert Committee on Access to New Energy Vehicles of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Chairman of China-US Electric Vehicle and Battery Technology Seminar and Chairman of International Forum on Power Lithium Technology and Industrial Development.

News Source:School of Materials Science and Engineering
Editor:News Agency of BIT
Translator:Zhao Shengtao, News Agency of BIT