Removal of organics by pyrolysis for enhancing liberation and flotation behavior of electrode materials derived from spent lithium-ion batteries

Organics retained in electrode materials decrease the liberation and flotation efficiency of electrode materials. Pyrolysis-assisted sustainable process was used to remove organic binder and residual electrolyte that was wrapped on the surface of electrode particles for enhancing liberation efficiency and flotation behavior of electrode materials. The pyrolysis characteristics of organics in electrode materials were investigated. High resolution 3D X-ray microanalyser combined with scanning electron microscope was utilized to reveal the liberation enhancement mechanism of electrode materials. Afterwards, effects of pyrolysis on surface morphology and flotation behavior of electrode materials were evaluated. Pyrolysis characteristics demonstrate that organics can be adequately decomposed at a pyrolysis temperature of 500 °C resulting in a high liberation efficiency with shorter crushing time. However, some pyrolysis oils remain on the surface of electrode materials at pyrolysis temperature of 500 °C, which...