While lithium extraction technologies generally focus on ways to get the essential metal out of the ground, there’s another source to mine: existing batteries that no longer work. A new technique could now make that process economically viable.
While lithium extraction technologies generally focus on ways to get the essential metal out of the ground, there’s another source to mine: existing batteries that no longer work. A new technique could now make that process economically viable.
If this truly works, that would be fantastic news, but getting clean lithium out of a used battery that has been degraded and the lithium has become contaminated sounds extremely complicated, so I’m still a bit skepical on the feasibility of it.
The process honestly sounds to me a little bit like decaffeination, which also feels like witchcraft to me. So it might work!
While most of science has thoroughly moved away from their mystic roots chemistry marches right back into alchemy.
Might have to start calling it the chemistry