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Researchers extract Cobalt and Lithium from old batteries
Posted on: 23/Aug/2016 4:06:53 PM
Researchers are trying to make use of naturally available fungi. This is to be used to extract lithium and cobalt by recycling process using waste and disposed batteries. The team leader of the project, Jeffrey A. Cunningham, Ph.D. said that this idea was sourced from a student who made use of the left over from smelting operations and tried extracting a few metals
His team is trying environment friendly ways of doing the same with the use of fungi and putting them in environments where they can perform their work. He pointed that it is very cheap source of labor to use fungi. His works were presented at the 252nd National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS). This involves the use of three strains of fungi including Penicillium simplicissimum, Penicillium chrysogenum and Aspergillus niger.
Firstly, the batteries are dismantled and cathodes are pulverized. The remaining pulp is then exposed to fungus. Fungi have got the nature of generating organic acids. This acid from fungi will leach out metals, says Cunningham. The pulverized cathode comes in touch with fungus and the acid produced. With this, we can extract lithium and cobalt. We try to extract maximum of original material in this process.
The results show that nearly 85 percent of lithium and 48 percent of cobalt present in the cathodes of these batteries are extracted by using oxalic acid and citric acid both of which are organic acids the fungi generates.
The world’s largest scientific society, ACS is holding meeting between 21st and 23rd of August. This will see more than 9000 presentations in variety of science topics.
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