{
  "patent_number": "US 10522884",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "Recycling Lithium-Ion Batteries to Make New Cathode Materials",
  "original_title": "Method and apparatus for recycling lithium-ion batteries",
  "summary": "This patent describes a method for recycling used lithium-ion batteries by dissolving their cathode materials, adjusting the metal ratios in a liquid, and then pulling out a custom mix of materials for new batteries without needing extreme heat.",
  "what_it_does": "This method recycles lithium-ion batteries by first crushing the old battery material and mixing it with an acidic liquid, like sulfuric acid, and hydrogen peroxide to create a \"leach solution\" (Claim 1). This process separates the useful cathode materials, such as cobalt, nickel, manganese, and aluminum, into dissolved salts, leaving behind undissolved parts. The patent then details determining the exact mix, or \"molar ratio,\" of these dissolved metals. Based on what's needed for a new battery, additional metal salts (like nickel, cobalt, manganese, or aluminum sulfates or hydroxides) are added to the solution to achieve a specific desired ratio (Claim 1). A chelating agent, such as 5-sulfosalicylic acid, is added with aluminum sulfate (Claim 11). Finally, the liquid's pH is raised to at least 10, causing the desired metals to \"coprecipitate\" (fall out of solution together) as a combined hydroxide or carbonate, forming a \"charge material precursor\" (Claim 1). This precursor can then be heated with lithium carbonate to become active cathode material for new batteries.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover recycling methods that separate useful elements into individual pure metals before recombining them, as it emphasizes keeping them commingled.",
    "Does not cover processes that do not involve adjusting the molar ratio of the dissolved cathode material salts to a predetermined target.",
    "Does not cover methods that precipitate the desired cathode materials at a pH lower than 10.",
    "Does not cover recycling processes that omit the use of hydrogen peroxide during the initial leaching step.",
    "Does not cover methods that do not include adding a chelating agent when adjusting the solution with aluminum sulfate."
  ],
  "filed": "2016-11-22",
  "granted": "2019-12-31",
  "expires": "2036-11-22",
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "Worcester Polytechnic Institute",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/worcester-polytechnic-institute",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Qina Sa",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/qina-sa"
    },
    {
      "name": "Eric Gratz",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/eric-gratz"
    },
    {
      "name": "Zhangfeng Zheng",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/zhangfeng-zheng"
    },
    {
      "name": "Joseph Heelan",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/joseph-heelan"
    },
    {
      "name": "Yan Wang",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/yan-wang"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 9,
  "tags": [
    "consumer_electronics",
    "automotive",
    "materials",
    "energy",
    "chemical_processing"
  ],
  "abstract": "Cathode material from exhausted lithium ion batteries are dissolved in a solution for extracting the useful elements Co (cobalt), Ni (nickel), Al (Aluminum) and Mn (manganese) to produce active cathode materials for new batteries. The solution includes compounds of desirable materials such as cobalt, nickel, aluminum and manganese dissolved as compounds from the exhausted cathode material of spent cells. Depending on a desired proportion, or ratio, of the desired materials, raw materials are added to the solution to achieve the desired ratio of the commingled compounds for the recycled cathode material for new cells. The desired materials precipitate out of solution without extensive heating or separation of the desired materials into individual compounds or elements. The resulting active cathode material has the predetermined ratio for use in new cells, and avoids high heat typically required to separate the useful elements because the desired materials remain commingled in solution.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/10522884/method-and-apparatus-for-recycling-lithium-ion-batteries",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/10522884/method-and-apparatus-for-recycling-lithium-ion-batteries/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US10522884",
  "relatedPatents": []
}