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Innovative company uses game-changing method to address concerning issue with electric vehicle batteries — here's what's happening
A solvent recycling plant in Thailand is expanding, making the electric vehicle battery manufacturing process more environmentally friendly, Reccessary reported.
The operation of an EV is much more eco-friendly than the operation of a gas-powered vehicle because EVs do not produce any tailpipe emissions, so they do not add to the air pollution that contributes to the warming of the planet. Switching from a gas-powered car to an EV is an excellent way to decrease your negative impact on the environment.
That being said, the EV battery manufacturing process is often criticized for its environmental challenges, as it is the most polluting part of making an EV.
Solvents are used during the production of EVs and their batteries and are a necessary part of the process due to their ability to dissolve dirt and evaporate quickly. They are a key component of the lithium-ion batteries that EVs use.
Solvents are often incinerated directly after use, creating three times more carbon emissions compared to when they are recycled.
Thailand's Sun-up Recycling specializes in solvent recycling. According to CEO Siamnat Panassorn, one of the industry's challenges is to retrieve solvents from used EV batteries and reuse them to produce new batteries, a process that they are trying to improve and expand, per Reccessary.
Sun-up Recycling's process involves a unique distillation technology that separates mixtures in waste solvents and purifies them, Recessary reported. The result is a recycled solvent that is 99% pure. The recovery rate, or amount of reusable material, is 80-95%. They find that using recycled solvents can reduce carbon emissions produced during battery manufacturing by about 77%.
The recycled solvents function almost identically to new solvents and save customers money because they no longer need to purchase new ones.
Solvent recycling is a key component of Thailand's Bio, Circular, Green (BCG) policy. Introduced in 2021, the government policy encourages manufacturing industries to invest in new technologies that add value to products without increasing the negative effect they have on the environment.
Panassorm has observed that the pressure for the EV manufacturing industry to reduce its environmental impact has increased over time, per Recessary.
Luckily, the process is improving. Sun-up Recycling is projecting a 10% revenue growth this year and contributes some of that money to solvent recycling technology. Panassorm hopes to expand to international markets so more customers — and the environment — can benefit from the process.
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