What is battery recycling?

Battery recycling is, generally speaking, a low margin sector. The recovery of black mass and other battery materials into sustainable materials, and how recyclate can be made into batteries, are the biggest opportunities for the UK.

Are battery retailers obligated to recycle used batteries?

Then, battery retailers are obligated to recycle used cells in Denmark, Sweden, and other European countries, and they implemented a special excise tax of 6–8% on batteries sold. According to ref. 31, the recycling rate of waste batteries and mobile phone batteries has exceeded 75% in Denmark and 95% in Sweden.

Can batteries be recycled?

Consequently, achieving complete recycling of spent batteries becomes challenging. 89 Therefore, it is crucial to incorporate other recycling methods, such as chemical recycling and biological recycling techniques, to address the limitations of physical recycling techniques.

Why is the waste battery recycling industry important?

Hence, the waste battery recycling industry holds significant potential for application and development. The recycling of waste batteries faces several challenges, including the establishment of effective recycling channels, high recycling costs, and technical complexities.

Should batteries and valuable metal substances be fully recycled?

Therefore, spent batteries and valuable metal substances should be fully recycled to prevent a shortage of raw materials, 10 as presented in Figure 1. Figure 1. Developments of the battery (A) Life cycle chain of LIBs. Copyright 2023, Elsevier, Reproduced with permission. 9 (B) The circular economy of waste LIBs.

What are the challenges faced by the recycling of waste battery?

Countries have begun to pay more attention to the recycling of waste battery, nevertheless, faced with the following problems and challenges. The recycling of diverse battery types presents complex and multifaceted challenges that span various scientific disciplines, including physics, chemistry, and biology.