Fig. 1: Upgrading spent LCO cathodes to catalysts.
From: Grave-to-cradle photothermal upcycling of waste polyesters over spent LiCoO2
a Traditional LCO battery recycling strategies, including pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy and direct regeneration. b Economic benefits of different strategies for LCO cathodes recycling. c Schematic diagram of the recovery process of spent LCO and photothermal catalytic polyester recycling. Initially, the discarded LCO batteries were disassembled to acquire photothermal catalysts. Subsequently, these catalysts were combined with shredded PET film and ethylene glycol (EG). The resultant solution was then subjected to simulated sunlight to initiate the reaction. Finally, a sequence of separation and purification steps was employed to purify BHET.
