SBIR Phase I: Automated Disassembly

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will introduce novel separation techniques to improve the efficiency and product quality in rechargeable lithium battery recycling. Producing high purity materials from scrap is difficult to achieve. Current separation practices rely on the use of high temperatures or strong chemicals to separate various elements from the waste mix; typically, landfill is the only economic option for end-of life cells. This project will develop an efficient system to produce battery materials from scrap batteries without treating scrap as an ore body for elements. The objective of this project is to improve the purity of material recovered from electronic scrap by an order of magnitude, compared to current practices, while reducing the cost of operation. The intellectual property developed in this project will advance the knowledge and industrial practice for highly efficient material recycling. This project has the potential of developing a cost efficient green technology that saves material resources, energy, and landfill space. Innovative recycling technology will be essential to the future service industry for scrap material generated from consumer electronics and vehicles. Materials are a major fraction of battery cost. If successful, this project will result in high quality secondary materials at a very low cost. By reducing the energy expended to produce and manufacture advanced materials from one product generation to another and minimizing low value scrap materials that are disposed in landfills, successful outcome of this project will impact the life cycle cost of rechargeable batteries. The project will provide educational opportunities for undergraduate students in the pursuit of science, math, engineering and technology fields.