Sustainable Recycling Technologies of Lithium-Ion Battery Cathode: Recent Advances and Future Perspectives

Abstract

With the rapid development of electric vehicles and energy storage systems, the amount of waste lithium-ion batteries has increased sharply, and the demand for recycling has become increasingly urgent. This paper focuses on the green recycling technology of lithium-ion battery cathode materials, aiming to achieve resource recycling and environmental sustainability. This review analyzes the characteristics of cathode materials such as LiCoO₂, NMC, LiFePO₄ and LiMn₂O₄ and their influence on the applicability of recycling methods. The principles, efficiency and scale-up potential of green recycling technologies, such as solid-state sintering, hydrothermal method, molten salt treatment and electrochemical method, are discussed in detail. These technologies recover key metals such as lithium, cobalt and nickel in a low-impact manner while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and secondary pollution. It was shown that green recycling technology has advantages in material purity and energy efficiency, but energy consumption and cost need to be optimized to achieve scale. In the future, through technological innovation and policy support, lithium-ion battery recycling can help the development of the circular economy and provide guarantees for sustainable energy.