European Lithium Institute
European Lithium Institute

Processing and Recycling

eLi Processing and Recycling

 

This platform gathers teams recognized in the fields of mineral processing, hydrometallurgy and pyrometallurgy from lab to pilot scale.

© Université de Lorraine-Georessources

Research activities

  • Flotation of ores including lithium ore
  • Thermal treatment of lithium ore
  • Purification and extraction operations for valorizing of metals from primary and
    secondary resources
  • Innovative recycling processes for
    lithium-ion batteries

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Industry activities

  • Development of recovery flowsheets
  • Improvement of metal extraction from deep mineralized zones
  • Improvement of mineral processing
    technologies
  • Optimization of industrial battery
    recycling processes

© Université de Lorraine-Georessources

Education activities

  • Training by research within the framework of MSc and PhD programs
  • Pilot scale courses for MSc students
  • EMerald Master course in Resources Engineering with the support of Erasmus+ Program of the European Union
  • Visit of mining industries for students

Processing and Recycling platform for improving lithium-ion battery sustainability

© Université de Lorraine – Georessources
  • Experimental study and modelling of the synergistic effects in mixed collectors systems, especially with non ionic reagent
  • Development of modelling tools to describe solvent extraction of metals in mixers-settlers depending on flowsheets, flowrates and chemistry
  • Development of breakthrough process involving new chemistry relying on supercritic fluids, ionic liquids, micro and milli-fluidic devices

Project NeW-Bat (supported by BMBF)

© Fraunhofer ISC
  • Efficient recycling of end-of-life lithium-ion batteries and production residues
  • Main item of the new recycling process is the materials selective fragmentation EHF based on shock waves
  • Goal is the complete recovery of all battery materials (especially lithium metal oxides) for direct reuse in new batteries

Project AutoBatRec 2020 (supported by EIT RawMaterials)

© Fraunhofer ISC
  • AutoBatRec 2020 will address the challenges of integrating Li-ion-batteries into a circular economy
  • It will give insight into several new developments and technologies for battery disassembly and recycling
  • Goal is a complete process concept for the upscaled disassembly of batteries as well as the fragmentation and separation into clean materials fractions