Page 36 - Plastics News August 2024
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ENVIRONMENT NEWS
Flash recycling breakthrough achieves 98% effi-
ciency in battery recovery
Reprsentation image of used batteries piled randomly in big comtainer.
esearchers at Rice University, led by without the need for solvents. This approach ad-
James Tour, have created a ground- dresses the environmental challenges of recy-
Rbreaking flash recycling technique that cling lithium-ion batteries, particularly from elec-
recovers battery material with 98% efficiency. tric vehicles, and offers significant economic and
This environmentally friendly method, called ecological benefits over traditional methods. The
flash Joule heating (FJH), rapidly heats battery process is being scaled industrially, with poten-
waste to 2,500 Kelvin, creating magnetic shells tial to handle both cathode and anode recycling.
and stable core structures. The technique great- Source: - Interesting Engineering
ly reduces metal impurities and preserves the
material structure for future usage by effective-
ly separating and purifying battery components
36 PLASTICS NEWS August 2024
