Binned batteries to power India's lithium boom

Time of India

7 days ago

Rajkot: Gujarat is set to give the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' mission a significant push in lithium—the 'white gold' indispensable for powering gadgets and e-vehicles—while also extracting the metal without polluting the environment.
Scientists at the Bhavnagar-based Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSMCRI) developed a clean, fast, and selective method to extract lithium from disposed batteries. This discovery could significantly reduce India's import bills as the country imports 100% of its lithium requirement.
This study was recently published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition, a leading peer reviewed chemistry journal by the German Chemical Society.
Scientists say the technology will also give the much-needed momentum to India's rapid shift to green energy and lower dependence on fossil fuels.
On average, one ton of lithium requires processing about 28 tons of battery waste. The metal is recovered only after several stages of processes that are slow, inefficient, and costly, often resulting in metal contamination and loss, and the purity is also not high. This also deters battery producers from extracting lithium from waste.
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The conventional process, after recovering the black powder, first involves leaching all metals like nickel, cobalt, and manganese in the battery's cathode, resulting in significant loss and contamination. If scaled up after commercial application, businesses handling waste batteries could get a big encouragement and better price. At present, waste battery handling is not a lucrative business due to pollution and the small quantity of lithium obtained.
CSMCRI's scientists have turned the problem on its head. Instead of lithium coming out last, their new method pulls lithium out first—with purity. After recovering the black powder from used lithium-ion batteries, anthraquinone salt and hydrogen peroxide are applied to selectively extract lithium.
Kannan Srinivasan, director of CSIR-CSMCRI, said, "This method avoids the harsh chemicals and high-energy use of existing processes."
Lead researcher and Principal Scientist Alok Ranjan Paital said, "We achieved 97% lithium leaching efficiency in just one hour. Also, compared to 2–3 days required by traditional methods to extract one ton of lithium, this new technique delivers the same results in just 2–3 hours with higher purity.
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Scientists also successfully synthesised new battery materials, proving its practical viability. "This greener method could help ease pressure on lithium mining and support a sustainable lithium supply chain," said principal scientist Kanti Bhooshan Pandey. CSMCRI is already in talks with industry players for commercial adoption.