The demand for lithium batteries is increasing tremendously throughout the world as energy is becoming more valuable with every passing day. There’s no denying the fact that lithium batteries play a pivotal role in our daily life. Take a look around you and you’ll find almost every other gadget that is running on these batteries, may it be your mobile phones, laptop, tablets, and whatnot. However, there are always a few problems to cater to when dealing with technological advancements, and one of the major problems is the safe disposal of these batteries so they don’t end up in landfills, and pollute the environment. Here’s what you need to know about lithium batteries and if recycling them is a problem or opportunity;
What Is a Lithium Battery?
It is one of the most well-known rechargeable batteries. The key components of the electrochemistry of this battery are lithium ions, these are separated from their electrons once they are ionized in the anode when discharging takes place. The electrodes in this battery can be of different types such as cobalt oxide, and graphite, where cobalt oxide is the cathode and graphite is the anode, this is the most common combination of a lithium battery.
It is used in numerous portable electronic devices that we use daily. For hybrid cars and electric automobiles, lithium magnesium oxide is utilized as the cathode. There are unnumbered applications of lithium batteries, as these are one of the most demanded batteries in the world.
Recycling Lithium Battery
The disposal of lithium batteries is a real threat to the environment, the reactive alkali metal is a major concern to look upon when dealing with these batteries, there isn’t a proper disposal mechanism for these batteries which is a major reason behind increased pollution. Improper disposal of batteries leads to contaminated water and soil, which is harmful to the ecosystem. Lithium batteries have metal oxides, aluminum, phosphates, copper, graphite, and many other harmful components to the environment and researchers are desperate for effective lithium battery recycling solutions.
As the UK is one of the leading countries when it comes tosustainable development, the need of the hour is to come up with a proper mechanism to deal with the threat caused by these batteries. The most infamous solution to this problem is the recycling of lithium batteries, but it also has some flaws along with numerous benefits. Here are the benefits and challenges of recycling lithium batteries;
Benefits
There is a long list of reasons why recycling lithium batteries is a good option. One of the top-notch benefits of recycling is that the material recovered can be utilized in the manufacturing of new batteries, this will also help in cost-cutting in the production of batteries. More than half of the battery cost is the material used in them, the prices are pretty high when we talk about materials such as cobalt or even nickel. Natural ores of these metals will last longer and the material will be reused, it will also lead to a decline in the prices of lithium batteries.
There are unnumbered economic benefits of recycling lithium batteries. Other than economic benefits, there are several environmental benefits that have enormous significance in this part of the century where the world is battling crumbling ecosystems and numerous threats to the environment. The quantity of the materials going into landfills will be reduced at a greater level, as most of those materials will be reused by the manufacturers.
Harmful metals in these batteries can contaminate the land and water, leading to an adverse threat to human life and local ecosystems, it is one of the main culprits behind the extinction of many species of land and water. Not only this but even before batteries are made, they are a clear threat to the environment, exploring metal ores requires extensive energy and resources which are also responsible for harming the environment.
Challenges
There are many approaches taken to recycle lithium batteries, and some of them are effective as well. However, there are a lot of challenges in recycling these batteries too. Countries are not equipped with the right technology and infrastructure to safely recycle batteries and the demand for recycling is also very low.
There isn’t a certain industry standard when it comes to recycling lithium batteries and the process of recycling has become unpredictable, leading to a lack of reliability. Lithium batteries are made with complex components and recycling them requires extensive and advanced research and technology.
Conclusion
If proper infrastructure and technology are developed to recycle lithium batteries then recycling is certainly an opportunity that the manufacturers need to take. However, if the process is unclear and there is a lack of knowledge and infrastructure then recycling can be a problem. Yet, as the green revolution is spreading out wide, leading companies, economies, and countries have the responsibility to carry out sustainable practices such as recycling these batteries to create a better environment for humans and other species. The use of lithium batteries has surely changed the world, there are numerous benefits of using these batteries in every other gadget, automobile, and whatnot.
