The hydrometallurgical recycling process for spent LFP batteries is primarily designed to process spent LFP battery cells and electrode sheets. After undergoing a precise pretreatment phase, these raw materials enter the comprehensive hydrometallurgical recovery system for deep and highly efficient processing.
LFP Battery Hydrometallurgical Recycling Process Flow
1. Lithium Battery Pretreatment Stage
The pretreatment of spent lithium batteries consists of several critical engineering steps:
Battery Discharging
Spent batteries first undergo saltwater (brine) immersion discharging. This crucial step neutralizes any residual charge, ensuring maximum safety during subsequent processing phases.
Battery Crushing
The safely discharged batteries are fed into a multi-stage shredding system, passing through primary and secondary crushing to break down the physical structure.
High-Temperature Carbonization
The crushed battery materials undergo a thermal carbonization process at high temperatures to eliminate binders, electrolytes, and organic separators.
Sorting & Screening
Utilizing an advanced mechanical separation line, the cathode and anode powder is successfully separated from other structural components.
Magnetic + Air + Vibratory Separation
This combined refinement step further extracts residual metallic impurities (such as copper and aluminum fragments), resulting in highly pure cathode and anode black mass.
2. Hydrometallurgical Recycling System for Spent LFP Black Mass
The pretreated cathode and anode powder (black mass) then enters the wet chemical metallurgical recovery line, which involves the following advanced steps:
Leaching, Purification & Filter Pressing
The fine powder is mixed with a precise acid solution for a multi-stage leaching reaction, fully dissolving valuable metals like lithium into the liquid phase. The solution then undergoes rigorous iron/aluminum removal, deep purification, and filter pressing to yield a highly pure, clear liquid solution.
MVR Evaporative Concentration, Decrystallization & Ion Exchange
The purified leach solution is concentrated using an energy-efficient MVR (Mechanical Vapor Recompression) evaporator. It then goes through specialized decrystallization and advanced resin ion exchange systems to achieve deep purification and concentration of lithium ions.
Lithium Precipitation, Washing, Drying & Packaging
Finally, through chemical precipitation, thorough washing, high-efficiency drying, ultra-fine pulverization, and automated packaging, high-purity, battery-grade Lithium Carbonate ($Li_2CO_3$) is successfully produced.
Why LFP Battery Hydrometallurgical Recycling Matters
The hydrometallurgical recycling process for spent LFP batteries not only achieves a high-efficiency recovery rate of valuable lithium resources but also strictly controls emissions to prevent secondary environmental pollution.
Launch Your Battery Hydrometallurgical Recycling Business Today!
Are you planning to establish a professional, high-yield spent lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery black mass hydrometallurgical recycling plant? Contact Guanma Machinery today to get a customized technical proposal and a competitive quote on our LFP black mass hydrometallurgical recycling equipment!
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