University of Ottawa Enters Into Collaborative Research Project with Sparta’s E-Waste Division

SEATTLE (Waste Advantage): Sparta Group announces that its electronic waste recycling division, ERS International is collaborating with the University of Ottawa (uOttawa) on a research project that is looking at recovery of lithium, as well as other metals and materials from spent Lithium-ion (“Li-ion”) batteries. Product developers have applied various configurations of Li-ion batteries over the last decade; however, the world is still in the early stages of finding efficient ways to upcycle and recycle mined lithium, as well as other precious metals. Scientists at ERS believe finding the right practices could prove lucrative.

To date, the recycling of lithium batteries is described as difficult for several reasons, including the tendency for this type of battery to explode, the need for manual disassembly, as well as the potential for negative environmental consequences. However, with lithium batteries being used in everything from portable electronics, electric tools, and medical equipment to military equipment, aerospace, and electric cars, the need for safe, efficient metals recovery is huge. The ERS management team often work out of their specialized Research and Development (R&D) laboratory at their recycling facility in East Toronto. They have said that they are ultimately looking for an environment-friendly method of recycling lithium batteries that is cost effective, as opposed to current systems that are cost prohibitive and require a lot of acid leaching, as well as incineration. ERS’s lab leaders will be directly collaborating with uOttawa Lab professionals.

According to metals experts, recycled metals; especially lithium and cobalt, are attractive to manufacturers since there are limited sources that produce these two metals. The uOttawa/ERS research project is expected to create an economically efficient and environmentally sustainable method for recovery of metals from used lithium batteries. The U.S based research and analysis group, Frontier reports that more than 70 percent of the world’s cobalt is produced in the Democratic Republic of Congo and based on mines in operation, as well as estimated demand, supply won’t be able to keep up with demand by 2030 or sooner. Meanwhile, many lithium extraction projects require significant capital prior to actual production, thus slowing extraction down and creating the shortage we are experiencing today.

“Until now, researchers and manufacturers have focused more on lowering the cost of lithium batteries extraction and increasing the longevity, as well as charge capacity, not on industrial scale upcycling or recycling. As an environmental company we feel we have both a responsibility and an opportunity here to make lithium, cobalt, and other metals recovery uncomplicated. We have great faith in our partners at the University of Ottawa and wouldn’t be involved in this collaboration if we didn’t think it could make a big difference in the way lithium batteries are handled at the end of their life,” said Sparta President, John O’Bireck.

Courtesy: www.wasteadvantage.com