Recycling of Electrolyte Components

Recovery and Reuse of salts and solvents from lithium-ion batteries.

Scheme electrolyte recycling - Reprinted under permission of CC BY-NC license from Teoh et al. 2024, Small.

Picture: K.S. Teoh, M. Melchiorre, J.L. Gómez Urbano

One of the main endeavors in scientific research is to make processes and products more environmentally friendly. Our working group is therefore trying to find greener electrolytes for energy storage systems. “Green” means, for example, using substances that can be produced sustainably, are biodegradable, or contain as little fluorine as possible

It is generally known that with increasing electrification and the expansion of renewable energies, the demand for energy storage systems will continue to rise. Experts agree that the most sustainable systems are those that can be reused. While the recycling of electrode materials has been researched for years and is already being implemented industrially in some cases, electrolytes have been less researched to date. Our working group is therefore focusing on the recycling of electrolytes. The aim is to design electrolytes for various systems in such a way that, after the end-of-life of the battery, they can be recovered efficiently and sustainably (water-based).

  • Publications

    Teoh, KS, Melchiorre, M., Darlami Magar, S., Leibing, C., Ruffo, F., Gómez Urbano, JL and Balducci, A.; Formulation and Recycling of a Novel Electrolyte Based on Bio-Derived γ-Valerolactone and Lithium Bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide for Lithium-Ion Batteries. Small 2024, 21 (9), 2407850

    Teoh, KS, Melchiorre, M., Darlami Magar, S., Hermesdorf, M., Leistenschneider, D., Oschatz, M., Ruffo, F., Gómez Urbano, JL and Balducci, A.; Fluorine-Free Lithium-Ion Capacitor with Enhanced Sustainability and Safety Based on Bio-Based ƴ-Valerolactone and Lithium Bis(Oxalato)Borate Electrolyte. Advanced Materials 2024, 36 (18), 2310056.

Investigators