cathykai

Recycling lithium-ion batteries is possible but still energy- and cost-demanding. The process involves collecting, dismantling, and treating the batteries, which requires special equipment, labor, and safety precautions. High temperatures or chemical treatments are used to extract valuable metals, and while lithium can be recovered, it's often less efficient and more costly than sourcing it from raw materials. Hydrometallurgical methods are more effective for lithium recovery but involve expensive chemicals and create waste. Pyrometallurgical methods use a lot of energy and typically recover less lithium. Overall, recycled lithium is improving in quality, but due to the complexity and cost, it still struggles to compete with newly mined lithium.