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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 271 records · Page 15
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Electrode Separation and Froth Flotation for the Recovery of Li-ion Battery Cathode Materials

Increasing use of Li-ion batteries (LIBs) will significantly increase the quantity of LIB waste generated from end-of-life batteries. Spent LiCoO 2 (LCO) battery cathodes contain significant quantities of valuable metals, making them good candidates for recycling. Typical recycling processes rely on high temperatures (pyrometallurgy) and chemical leachants (hydrometallurgy) to completely decompose the cathode and enable material recovery. Direct recycling processes and recovery of active material from electrode scrap do not benefit from such destructive recycling, and an efficient means of separating the cathode active material from the inactive components (e.g., polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) binder, conductive carbon) is needed. Here, we explore PVDF removal from LCO cathodes by two separate methods, evaluating their suitability for coupling to subsequent separation by froth flotation (FF). We show that washing electrodes in the solvent PolarClean (PC) dissolves PVDF away from LCO cathodes, enabling separation of the remaining LCO and conductive carbon by FF. The process is suitable for use with both pristine and cycled LCO electrodes, and the pristine recovered material can be used to prepare electrodes capable of cycling at 140 mAh/g. In conclusion, this demonstrates the suitability of coupled PC washing and FF separation for recycling both end-of-life batteries and scrap electrode material.

Batteries↗
DOE OSTI2022

Techno-economic Analysis for a Low Cost and Recyclable Oxygen Carrier

The novelty of a chemical looping combustion (CLC) process is its ability to oxidize solid or gaseous fuels in a nitrogen-free environment eliminating the need for post combustion carbon dioxide capture. The technology is based on the oxygen carrier (OC); a metal oxide that at high temperatures can undergo a reduction reaction with a fuel, followed by an oxidation reaction with air. Successful development of CLC processes is dependent on the OC having: low cost, high attrition resistance under CLC conditions, and high reactivity for coal. In this paper, we discuss the development of a novel iron-based OC formulation produced from low cost and abundant raw materials. The active OC components are recyclable, with reformulated material performance comparable to the virgin OC, even when reformulated with ash contents of up to 10%. Furthermore, we discuss a techno-economic analysis for a centrally located OC facility for the novel OC, with a production capacity of 1 million metric tonnes per year. The facility serves a hypothetical market comprising 25 chemical looping combustion facilities, averaging 5 tonnes per hour OC replacement per facility. Estimates for the cost of the OC are around $150/tonne, and include an energy-to-power option to improve process economics.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Understanding fundamental effects of Cu impurity in different forms for recovered LiNi 0.6 Co 0.2 Mn 0.2 O 2 cathode materials

When identifying and developing lithium ion battery recycling technologies, understanding the role of impurities is always a concern as they may have an impact on electrochemical performance, material stability, or lifetime for recovered active materials. In this work we show that Cu impurity in different forms could play very different roles on the recovered LiNi 0.6 Co 0.2 Mn 0.2 O 2 (NCM622). Cu metal impurity could easily short the cell, while Cu ion impurity could play a positive role due to partially substitution of the Ni 2+ sites to lower the cation mixing degree. In specific, NCM622 material with certain amount (0.34 at%) of Cu ion impurity delivers high initial specific charge/discharge capacity of 211.8 and 186.0 mAh g -1 at 0.05 C, which are 12.2 and 14.1 mAh g -1 higher than those of virgin NCM622 cathode. Moreover, a superior retention capacity of 171.3 mAh g -1 after 90 cycles at 0.33 C, and striking rate capability are achieved in this NCM622 cathode sample. These results clearly indicate that Cu metal impurity should be avoided and the ionic Cu impurity should be controlled with optimal concentration during recycling process for spent LIBs.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Significance of a Solid Electrolyte Interphase on Separation of Anode and Cathode Materials from Spent Li-Ion Batteries by Froth Flotation

The separation of electrode active materials from spent Li-ion batteries (LIBs) by froth flotation is challenging due to the changes in surface properties of electrode active materials from cycling as well as the presence of organic binders. In this work, the froth flotation separation of aged anode and cathode composite materials from spent LIBs was systematically investigated after the materials were heat treated. The results show that aged anode and cathode materials from spent LIBs can be well separated from each other after a heating process in air at 400 degrees C and at which some of the PVDF binder remains intact. The underlying mechanism was investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), contact angle measurements, and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The results from the XPS and contact angle measurements show that there is a hydrophilic and oxygen-rich layer on the surface of aged anode materials. This hydrophilic surface, associated with the solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layer, impacts the froth flotation process significantly. The results also show that both the SEI layers and PVDF binder residues on the surface are removed at 400 degrees C for an hour, restoring the hydrophobicity of the anode materials, which, in turn, benefits the separation of anode and cathode materials. The STEM/EDX elemental analysis data confirms that there are 20 nm-thick oxygen-rich SEI layers on the surfaces, which can be removed after a heating process. The present result illustrates the significance of the SEI layers in flotation separation of electrode materials and sheds new lights into the future development of the recycling processes for the separation of anode and cathode composite materials from spent Li-ion batteries.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Iodine Capture by Ag-Loaded Solid Sorbents Followed by Ag Recycling and Iodine Immobilization: An End-to-End Process

Here, this article demonstrates the complete process of I 2(g) capture using Ag-exchanged faujasite (AgX) and Ag-exchanged mordenite (AgZ) zeolite sorbents, the recovery of Ag for recyclability of iodine capture, and the immobilization of iodide (from the elution process) into an iodosodalite waste form, which is chemically and environmentally stable. The gaseous iodine, I 2(g) , was captured in the AgX via chemisorption by Ag and converted to AgI within the aluminosilicate zeolite frameworks. The elution reaction in Na 2 S resulted in the precipitation of Ag 2 S and dissolution of I – and Na + into the aqueous solution, where powdered sorbent showed higher conversion efficiency than the granular form, which is attributed to Na 2 S-solution diffusion limitations in the granules. The Ag 2 S-containing aluminosilicate precipitates were filtered out of the solution, and the filtrate (aqueous solution) was used to synthesize iodosodalite to immobilize iodide. The iodine capture using the recovered Ag 2 S-containing sorbents shows equivalent iodine loadings to the AgX starting material of Q e = 0.355 g/g for powdered material and 0.255 g/g for granular material, demonstrating the potential recycling of Ag for iodine capture as Ag 2 S-based sorbents.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2023

Chemically recyclable polyolefin-like multiblock polymers

Polyolefins are the most important and largest volume plastics produced. Unfortunately, the enormous use of plastics and lack of effective disposal or recycling options have created a plastic waste catastrophe. Here in this work, we report an approach to create chemically recyclable polyolefin-like materials with diverse mechanical properties through the construction of multiblock polymers from hard and soft oligomeric building blocks synthesized with ruthenium-mediated ring-opening metathesis polymerization of cyclooctenes. The multiblock polymers exhibit broad mechanical properties, spanning elastomers to plastomers to thermoplastics, while integrating a high melting transition temperature (T m ) and low glass transition temperature (T g ), making them suitable for use across diverse applications (T m as high as 128°C and T g as low as –60°C). After use, the different plastics can be combined and efficiently deconstructed back to the fundamental hard and soft building blocks for separation and repolymerization to realize a closed-loop recycling process.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Green chemistry design in polymers derived from lignin: review and perspective

The use of lignin for material and chemical applications has gained interest in recent times due to the environmental focus on using biomass for renewable materials as well as the motivation to valorize lignin as part of an integrated biorefinery. While a wealth of publications can be found for lignin-derived materials, and several reviews can be found on the topic, there are no reviews that outline and critically assess the sustainability of these protocols based on the criterion of the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry. This review assesses the literature for lignin- derived polymers over the past 20 years and highlights attempts to use biobased accompanying reagents, green solvents or solvent-less protocols, reports that replace traditionally toxic precursors (e.g. diisocyanates for polyurethanes), use mild conditions, valorize additional waste streams and prepare materials particularly biodegradable or recyclable. Here, the following work is a comprehensive and critical assessment of the green and sustainable nature of the state-of-the art of lignin-derived polymers (polyurethane, polyester, epoxy, phenolic resin, and others) utilizing actual biomass in the synthetic protocol. Each section of this review highlights and assesses published protocols that use a particularly green approach in one or more steps of the synthetic sequence. While many reports still contain traditional petroleum-derived and toxic methods along with more sustainable methods, the outline of all such green methods is able to create a landscape amidst lignin-derived polymer synthesis that points the way toward safer and more environmentally friendly materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Closed‐Loop Recyclable Vitrimer Plastics from PET Waste: A Design for Circularity

Plastics are essential to modern society, but their low recycling rates and inefficient end-of-life management pose a significant environmental challenge. Herein, the efficient strategy for upcycling postconsumer poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) waste into robust, closed-loop recyclable vitrimer plastics and composites is presented to address this issue. The catalyst-free aminolysis utilizes readily available amines to deconstruct diverse PET wastes into macromonomers, which are upcycled into vitrimers, exhibiting superior mechanical properties and exceeding the ultimate tensile stress and Young's Modulus of virgin PET by 80% and 150% respectively. These vitrimers exhibit excellent healability, shape memory, thermal reprocessability, and closed-loop chemical recyclability, enabling quantitative macromonomer recovery even from mixed plastic waste streams and glass/carbon fiber reinforced vitrimer (G/CFRV) composites. Furthermore, the vitrimer resin yields robust GFRV and CFRV composites with tensile strengths exceeding those of traditional epoxy composites by 100% and 80%, respectively, while maintaining complete chemical recyclability of both constituent materials. A preliminary technoeconomic analysis confirms the costeffectiveness and competitiveness of the facile PET deconstruction approach, which is potentially adaptable to other condensation polymers. Further, this study presents a facile approach to upcycling plastic waste into circular plastics and composites, offering a sustainable solution to global plastic waste management and fostering a circular economy.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Process and Applications Development for Recycled Mixed-Stream Composites

The goal of this IACMI Phase II Technical Collaboration Project was to establish the viability of producing affordable, recycled composite parts, which were produced from fibers with the properties in the range of those reclaimed through the controlled pyrolysis technology demonstrated in Phase I [1]. For the purpose of this report, we use the terms “recovered carbon fiber” (rCF) and “recovered glass fiber” (rGF) as the material reclaimed from controlled pyrolysis. This fiber recycling technology utilizes the inherent energy in composites for fuel and preserves the structural value of glass fiber (GF) and carbon fiber (CF) for reuse. It can also be used for recycling other waste streams at the same facility, thus spreading capital risk and recovery across multiple industries and achieving economy of scale. A second goal to be addressed was the viability of using recycled fibers as reinforcing materials in additive manufacturing applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

MH-1A Sturgis Decommissioning and Dismantlement - 20281

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) with its prime contractor, Aptim Federal Services, LLC (APTIM), recycled 5,260 metric tons (11.6 million pounds) of material from Sturgis Barge (Sturgis) during the Decommissioning and Dismantlement of the MH-1A nuclear power reactor. The overall objective of the project was to reduce residual radioactivity associated with MH-1A to levels that permitted release of Sturgis for dismantlement and termination of the Army Reactor Office permit. By effectively applying waste hierarchy's three Rs - reduce, reuse and recycle - the Sturgis project not only minimized the amount of waste that required disposal at landfills, but also reduced the potential for long-term environmental liability emanating from these landfills. The project team completed the physical decommissioning efforts in June 2018 in Galveston, TX. In September 2018, radiological surveys were completed to demonstrate the vessel could be released for shipbreaking. Sturgis was towed from Galveston, TX to Brownsville, TX in late September 2018. Shipbreaking, dismantlement and recycling efforts began in early October 2018 and were completed on 15 March 2019. As part of the decommissioning effort in Galveston, the team shipped 69 shipments (860 metric tons) of low-level radioactive waste and radioactive components to the Waste Control Specialist (WCS) facility in Andrews TX for disposal. Certain radioactive components had to be transferred to the Department of Energy prior to placing the materials into the Federal Waste Facility located within WCS. However, most of the radioactive waste was characterized, profiled, approved and managed under the WCS permitted radioactive waste exemption process authorized and implemented by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and the Radioactive Materials Division. This allows LLRW and LLMW to be shipped as regulated waste and then upon receipt at WCS through satisfying the relevant waste acceptance criteria the waste is exempted and placed into the WCS RCRA permitted cell. An additional 35 shipments (544 metric ton) of contaminated hazardous waste water were transported to U.S. Ecology in Robstown, TX for treatment/disposal. An additional 36 shipments (500 metric tons) of non-hazardous wastewater was sent to Republic Waste Services' facility in Fresno, TX. The disposal of these materials required close coordination with State of Texas regulators. During decommissioning, the project team recycled approximately 270 metric tons (600,000 pounds) of lead and steel. As part of the dismantlement in Brownsville, TX the team recycled approximately 5,000 metric tons (11 million pounds) of ferrous and non-ferrous material, limiting our disposal requirements to about 180 metric tons (400,000 pounds) of material (<4% from entire shipbreaking activity). Although the primary hazard being mitigated by this project was radiological, recycling was always a priority for the project. The team strived to achieve sustainability goals as we implemented this one of a kind project. Scrap metal recycling has a large positive impact on the environment and can also favorably impact project disposal costs. Steel is among the most recycled material in the world. Nearly 40% of the world's steel production is made from scrap. Recycling steel also requires 75% less energy than producing it from raw materials. By using recycled steel rather than virgin materials, 2.33 kg of carbon emissions are eliminated per kg of steel [1]. The project recycled more than 4,500 metric tons (10 million pounds) of steel, which eliminated about 10,400 metric tons (23 million pounds) of CO{sub 2}. By implementing a recycling initiative for the Sturgis project, the team was able to realize cost avoidance for disposal of scrap, cost savings from the metals recycled, plus the project provided benefits to the environment through our recycling efforts. Once the dismantlement was complete, the team prepared a detailed decommissioning closure report, which allowed for the termination of the Army Reactor Decommissioning Permit. While it not only reduced any potential long-term environmental liability, this project to decommission and dismantle a floating nuclear power plant is truly unprecedented - it is a prime example of the USACE mission which is: 'Engineering solutions for the Nation's toughest challenges'. This unique, one of a kind, historical power plant was never designed to be taken apart, and the available information about its construction was lacking in many details. The hazards that required mitigation dictated a painstaking and deliberate process in order to avoid any release to the environment and the community, and to protect the health and safety of the workers involved while keeping the waste hierarchy's three R's - reduce, reuse and recycle at the forefront. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2022

Decomposition of PVDF to delaminate cathode materials from end-of-life lithium-ion battery cathodes

The growing demand of electric vehicles and rapid consumption of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) require recycling of spent cathode active materials (CAMs) to reduce hazardous wastes and supply raw materials to LIB production. To separate CAMs from the cathode, direct calcination of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) binder is widely applied, which leads to high energy consumption and release of toxic hydrogen fluoride. It is desirable to have an environmentally friendly and effective alternative to traditional direct calcination. In this study, five lithium salts, LiOAc (lithium acetate), LiNO 3 , LiCl, Li 2 CO 3 , and Li 2 SO 4 , were deployed and compared for their performance in recycling CAMs. A peel-off efficiency of up to 98.5% was achieved at a LiOAc to LiNO 3 molar ratio of 3:2, salt to cathode mass ratio of 10:1, and temperature of 300 °C at a holding time of 30 min. This system avoids corrosive chemicals and minimizes particle agglomeration of recycled products. Compared with sodium salt systems (NaOAc-NaNO 3 ) or direct calcination, the LiOAc-LiNO 3 system prevented high reaction temperature or further lithium loss and minimized crystal structure and morphological changes. In conclusion, a decomposition mechanism of PVDF through adsorption of HF and fluorine substitution was proposed.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Sustainable recycling of cathode scraps via Cyrene-based separation

Separation of cathode materials from the current collector remains a challenging task for the recycling of both spent lithium-ion batteries and cathode scraps. Dissolving the organic binder polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) with an organic solvent to recover both cathode materials and Al foils is an efficient and promising method. However, the use of toxic solvents limits their practical application in recycling large amounts of cathode scraps generated during the manufacturing process. Cyrene, a bioderived green solvent, is proposed here for a solvent-based separation process. This study investigated a closed-loop recovery process to reclaim cathode materials, Al foils, and PVDF binder from cathode scraps. Furthermore, the reuse of the Cyrene solvent led to a circular recycling process. Additionally, the Cyrene-based separation process embraces a sustainable electrode recovery and reuse platform and paves the way for battery recycling.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Plasma Wall Interaction with 3-D Plasma Boundaries

The interaction of the edge plasma and the material surfaces is one of the most critical challenges on the path to harness fusion power as new, fundamental energy source. This challenge typically combines the thrust to reach high density, low temperature (detached) plasmas in front of the divertor target plates as well as understanding the plasma material interaction (PMI) in particular in this regime. The combination of both research thrusts represents an extraordinarily challenging subject encompassing spatial scales spanning nanometers to meters in all states of matter and across a broad energy range. Modeling capabilities, which help to interpret data from nowadays experiments and enable extrapolation to future devices are urgently required. This is in particular true for toroidal magnetic confinement devices with three-dimensional (3D) plasma boundaries. Such plasma boundary geometries occur in tokamaks, when small amplitude magnetic perturbations are used to stabilize the unruly edge plasma or in stellarators, that are inherently 3D plasma confinement devices. In this project, the impact of 3D plasma boundaries on the plasma material interaction (PMI) was assessed. This work focused on plasma boundary conditions, in which high-density conditions at the material surfaces yield mitigation of the otherwise immense heat and particle loads that these materials would see. These so-called high recycling and eventually detached plasma regimes are of great interest for future reactor operation. In the project, key features that are unique to 3D boundaries were explored in comparison to canonically assumed axisymmetric plasma edge situations in tokamaks. In particular, the relevance of the 3D boundary situation in the extrapolation to the plasma boundary solution at ITER, the next step fusion energy experiment under construction as a multi-national, world-wide large-science experiment in southern France, has been explored. The EMC3-EIRENE plasma edge fluid and kinetic neutral transport code has been advanced to cope with the challenging and unprecedented conditions in the ITER boundary plasma including 3D fields that are planned to be used to suppress harmful edge instabilities, the so-called edge localized modes. This is a vital integration challenge for ITER and the results from this grant have provide a leading capability for this assessment. It was shown that the detachment process in a 3D edge solution for ITER follows the recycling regimes that are known from axisymmetric solutions, but that multiple plasma exhaust channels connected to the material surfaces are established which feature individual recycling characteristics. Because these channels touch the material surfaces in the divertor in a 3D geometry, the compatibility with the plasma material interaction (PMI), including erosion and impurity generation has been found to be an important part of the integration challenge. To address this, the fully 3D plasma material interaction code ERO2 has been adapted to these ITER specific geometries and a homogeneous mixing model was implemented, that allows to consider the mixing of Be and Was used at ITER in the PMI modeling. This model enhancement has been used to study non-local migration of Be in the JET ITER like wall configuration and it has been shown that with this model such complex migration processes in ITER relevant plasma shapes and with ITER relevant plasma boundary conditions can be addressed. The combined modeling approach using EMC3-EIRENE as a plasma boundary transport code and the ERO2 specialized PMI model will be an asset for the continued preparations of ITER operation as well as for Fusion Pilot Plant efforts that have emerged in the U.S. during the evolution of this grant. The predictive capability of this numerical tool has been validated at the DIII-D US national fusion facility. Here, dedicated plasma edge diagnostics were implemented to measure the impurity household around a 3D edge plasma during ELM suppression by 3D fields. Dedicated experiments with local material probes using these diagnostics and the state-of-the-art suite of boundary measurements at DIII-D have shown that the 3D perturbation of the plasma edge that is excreted by such 3D control fields yield a perturbation of the plasma boundary flux structure and hence also of the resulting PMI. The 3D boundary plasma is composed out of helical magnetic flux channels that intersect the divertor targets at an angle relative to the main guiding field, i.e., the toroidal magnetic field component of the tokamak. A similar effect has been measured as well on limiter surfaces during the startup campaign at the new stellarator experiment Wendelstein 7-X. These experiments ad initial analysis with the ERO plasma material interaction model, suggested that the place of erosion for a given particle from the surface and its re-deposition can be different in such 3D field geometries yielding potentially a significant level of net-erosion. This is not the case for axisymmetric solutions, where it was shown in the past that the eroded particles are effectively re-deposited into gaps produced by erosion at the same position and hence the net-erosion levels are small. For ITER, the quest to suppress the ELMs and at the same time maintain the integrity of the divertor is an issue, which these fundamental findings will help to resolve. The coupling of this work to the extrapolation in the ITER program has been addressed by both the PI and the lead numerical scientist being ITER Science Fellows in the duration of the contract and forward. A second focus in the exploration of 3D boundary effects on tokamaks and stellarators has been set on the measurement of helium exhaust features with such 3D fields. This is important because He represents the ash of the fusion process and needs to be exhausted. It was shown that 3D field application compatible with suppression of ELMs yields an increase of the helium exhaust performance. The ratio of the effective helium confinement time over the energy confinement time was reduced by almost 50% which demonstrated that the impact of helium accumulation in the plasma core with respect to the confinement of energy to sustain the fusion reaction is significantly improved with such 3D control fields. It was shown that this is the case for tokamaks as well as stellarators. At the Large helical Device in Japan, a similar enhancement of the helium exhaust features when small amplitude additional 3D fields were applied was measured. This is an important additional function of 3D field application and its impact on ITER is presently being studied in combination with investigations of helium exhaust in 3D field geometries of stellarator devices.

3D plasma edge transport↗
DOE OSTI2025

Carbonation reaction of recycled concrete aggregates (RCA): CO 2 mass consumption under various treatment conditions

Concrete is a key building material around the world due to its excellent strength and durability. Recycling demolished concrete for new construction materials may play a significant role in sustainable development. Producing recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) from waste concrete is one approach for such an initiative. However, using RCA may pose challenges, such as reduced density, lower elastic modulus and strength, and increased water absorption. Recently, the carbonation of RCA has emerged as a method to address those concerns. This study explores the carbon sequestration capacity of RCA through carbonation, examining various parametric conditions, including initial CO 2 pressure, relative humidity, temperature, and pre-treatment approach. Both lab-scale and large-scale carbonation tests were conducted. Additionally, a cost analysis and CO 2 footprint assessment were performed. The findings showed that applying higher initial CO 2 pressures (e.g., 40–60 psi) and optimal relative humidity (~55 %) could significantly enhance the carbonation efficiency of RCA. Elevating temperature also led to accelerated CO 2 consumption, being more effective on the lab scale. The economic analysis presented potential cost benefits when substituting natural aggregates with CO 2 -treated RCA. All in all, these results suggest that the carbonation of RCA may provide significant environmental benefits through carbon sequestration, promoting sustainable construction practices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Sequential separation of battery electrode materials and metal foils in aqueous media

To recycle high-value lithium-ion battery components, it is imperative to efficiently separate electrode materials from current collector foils and to separate cathodes from anodes. This study investigates the delamination behaviors of cathodes and anodes from their respective current collectors in aqueous media. Whereas anode films can easily detach from copper foils in water, the delamination of cathode films does not exhibit the same behavior in water; instead, the cation exchange reaction results in lithium leaching and aluminum corrosion in the presence of water. Here, a buffer solution with surfactant additives has been designed to prevent aluminum corrosion and to improve solution wetting behavior, thereby facilitating cathode delamination. The delamination difference enables the sequential recovery of electrode materials and metal foils at different separation stages, simplifying the traditionally intricate processes within a one-pot recovery system. The recovered materials retain their crystal structure and morphology, and there are no signs of aluminum corrosion or residues on the metal foils. The sequential separation technique achieves nearly 100% separation efficiency for electrode materials from metal foils and over 98% separation efficiency for cathode and anode materials.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Techno‐economic, environmental, and social measurement of clean energy technology supply chains

Abstract In addition to the criteria of reliability and cost, clean energy technologies, such as wind, solar, and batteries, need to strive to a higher standard of environmental and societal benefit along their entire supply chain. This means additional performance metrics for these technologies should be considered, such as embodied energy, embodied carbon, recycled content and recyclability, environmental impact of material sourcing, impact on land and ecosystems, materials recovery at end of life, and production through quality nonexploitive jobs with community benefit. Many commercial and emerging energy technologies have not yet been explicitly evaluated based on these environmental and social performance metrics, which presents multiple opportunities for researchers and analysts. In this paper, we review the importance and current limitations of techno‐economic and life‐cycle assessment models for research design and manufacturing decisions. We explore emerging manufacturing modeling options that could improve environmental and social performance and how they could be used to help guide research. Even with the deployment of low‐carbon energy‐generation technologies, the future of a successful clean energy transition requires collaboration between researchers, advanced manufacturers, independent standards and tracking organizations, local communities, and national governments, to ensure the financial, environmental, and social sustainability of the entire supply and manufacturing process of energy technologies.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗