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Article

Characterization of Industrial Black Mass from End-of-Life LiFePO4-Graphite Batteries

by
Nanna Bjerre-Christensen
1,†,
Caroline Birksø Eriksen
1,†,
Kristian Oluf Sylvester-Hvid
2 and
Dorthe Bomholdt Ravnsbæk
1,*
1
Center for Sustainable Energy Materials, Department of Chemistry, Aarhus University, Langelandsgade 140, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
2
Functional Materials, Danish Technological Institute, Gregersensvej 1, 2630 Taastrup, Denmark
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Batteries 2025, 11(6), 210; https://doi.org/10.3390/batteries11060210
Submission received: 4 April 2025 / Revised: 18 May 2025 / Accepted: 19 May 2025 / Published: 26 May 2025

Abstract

The use of Li-ion batteries is drastically increasing, especially due to the growing sales of electric vehicles. Simultaneously, there is a shift towards exchanging the traditional Co- and Ni-rich electrode materials with more sustainable alternatives such as LiFePO4. This transition challenges conventional recycling practices, which typically rely on shredding batteries into a substance known as black mass, which is subsequently processed via hydrometallurgical or pyrometallurgical methods to extract valuable elements. These routes may not be economically viable for future sustainable chemistries with lower contents of high-value metal. Hence, new methods for processing the black mass, allowing, e.g., for physical separation and direct recycling, are direly needed. Such developments require that the black mass is thoroughly understood. In this study, we thoroughly characterize a commercially produced Graphite/LFP black mass sample from real battery waste using a suite of analytical techniques. Our findings reveal detailed chemical, morphological, and structural insights and show that the components in the black mass have different micro-size profiles, which may enable simple size separation. Unfortunately, our analysis also reveals that the employed processing of battery waste into black mass leads to the formation of an unknown Fe-containing compound, which may hamper direct recycling routes.
Keywords: recycling; LiFePO4; black mass; chemical analysis; structural analysis recycling; LiFePO4; black mass; chemical analysis; structural analysis
Graphical Abstract

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MDPI and ACS Style

Bjerre-Christensen, N.; Eriksen, C.B.; Sylvester-Hvid, K.O.; Ravnsbæk, D.B. Characterization of Industrial Black Mass from End-of-Life LiFePO4-Graphite Batteries. Batteries 2025, 11, 210. https://doi.org/10.3390/batteries11060210

AMA Style

Bjerre-Christensen N, Eriksen CB, Sylvester-Hvid KO, Ravnsbæk DB. Characterization of Industrial Black Mass from End-of-Life LiFePO4-Graphite Batteries. Batteries. 2025; 11(6):210. https://doi.org/10.3390/batteries11060210

Chicago/Turabian Style

Bjerre-Christensen, Nanna, Caroline Birksø Eriksen, Kristian Oluf Sylvester-Hvid, and Dorthe Bomholdt Ravnsbæk. 2025. "Characterization of Industrial Black Mass from End-of-Life LiFePO4-Graphite Batteries" Batteries 11, no. 6: 210. https://doi.org/10.3390/batteries11060210

APA Style

Bjerre-Christensen, N., Eriksen, C. B., Sylvester-Hvid, K. O., & Ravnsbæk, D. B. (2025). Characterization of Industrial Black Mass from End-of-Life LiFePO4-Graphite Batteries. Batteries, 11(6), 210. https://doi.org/10.3390/batteries11060210

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