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The rising production of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to the introduction of electric mobility as well as stationary energy storage devices demands an efficient and sustainable waste man-agement scheme for legislative, economic and ecologic reasons. One crucial part of the recycling of end-of-life (EOL) LIBs is mechanical processes, which generate material fractions for the pro-duction of new batteries or further metallurgical refining. In the context of safe and efficient processing of electric vehicles’ LIBs, crushing is usually applied as a first process step to open at least the battery cell and liberate the cell components. However, the cell opening method used requires a specific pretreatment to overcome the LIB’s hazard potentials. Therefore, the depend-ence on pretreatment and crushing is investigated in this contribution. For this, the energy input for liberation is determined and compared for different recycling strategies with respect to dis-mantling depth and depollution temperatures. Furthermore, the respective crushing product is analyzed regarding granulometric properties, material composition and liberation and decoat-ing behaviour depending on the pretreatment and grid size of the crushing equipment. Finer particles and components are generated with dried cells. Pyrolysis of cells, as well as high dis-mantling depths, do not allow to draw exact conclusions. The calculated and measured mass-specific mechanical energy input of different dismantling depths shows good accuracy. Consequently, trends for a successful separation strategy of the subsequent classifying and sort-ing processes are revealed, and recommendations for the liberation of LIBs are derived.

Lithium-Ion batteries (LIBs) are an important pillar for the sustainable transition of the mobility and energy storage sector. LIBs are complex devices for which waste management must incorporate different recycling technologies to produce high-quality secondary (raw) materials at high recycling efficiencies (RE). This contribution on LIB recycling investigated the influence of different pretreatment strategies on the subsequent processing. The experimental study combined different dismantling depths and depollution temperatures with subsequent crushing and thermal drying. Therein, the removal of organic solvent is quantified during liberation and separation. This allows to evaluate the safety of cell opening according to the initial depollution status. These process steps play a key role in the recycling of LIBs when using the low temperature route. Therefore, combinations of pretreatment and processing steps regarding technical and economic feasibility are discussed. Moreover, the process medium and equipment properties for a safe cell opening, the technical recycling efficiencies and their consequences on future industrial LIB waste management are pointed out.

The use and development of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are promoting the technological transformation of individual mobility, consumer electronics and electric energy storage. At their end of life, the complex compounds are disposed by different recycling technologies with defined secondary raw material production. The applied depollution temperatures of the process routes influence not only the recycling efficiency but also the process expenditure, design, medium and costs. Different pretreatment strategies in terms of dismantling depth and depollution temperature are existing. Furthermore, manual and mechanical methods for cell opening are distinguished, which together with the depollution leads to a respective organic solvent evaporation. In this contribution to LIB recycling, the influence of different dismantling depths, achieved by manual cell opening, on the thermal depollution of the LIB cells regarding the mass difference originating by organic solvent evaporation are quantified, in order to determine cell and equipment properties for a safe cell opening. As a result, combinations of thermal depollution and manual cell opening are discussed regarding technical and economic feasibility. The process medium and equipment properties for a safe cell opening are determined. Furthermore, recommendations for future industrial LIB waste management are presented.

The rising production of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to the introduction of stationary and portable energy-storage devices as well as electric mobility in particular demands an efficient and sustainable waste management scheme. In principle, the material transformation from end-of-life (EOL) LIBs to secondary (raw) materials follows the recycling chain for wastes. Therein, processing aims to break up the bonds between the individual components and materials of the battery to enrich them into defined concentrates for subsequent metallurgical refining. In general, mechanical processes are more energyefficient and economically affordable than thermal, chemical, and metallurgical ones. Consequently, a combination of several crushing, size classifying, and sorting steps are commonly used to prepare concentrates for further treatment. This chapter presents the principles of mechanical liberation and physical separation processes for EOL LIB processing. Combinations of specific processes categorized by their feed materials are proposed and discussed, outlining possible material fractions and further potential for research and development. LIB recycling with a mechanical processing unit is shown to achieve high recycling efficiencies that enable the fulfill the upcoming and updated European legal framework regarding LIB disposal.