Recycling and Reusing of Various Spent Batteries
A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental and Green Processes".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 5 February 2026 | Viewed by 245
Special Issue Editors
Interests: battery recycling; electrochemistry; sustainable materials; wastewater treatment
Interests: electrochemical recycling; Li-ion battery; advanced oxidation process
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Electronic waste worldwide is increasing rapidly due to the increased consumption of batteries in portable electronics, notebooks, mobile phones, and electric vehicles. With this technological advance, there is also a high environmental impact associated with the inappropriate disposal of waste from spent batteries and the excessive consumption of natural resources. The batteries contain important metals such as cobalt, lithium, rare earth, aluminum, copper, nickel, cadmium, zinc, manganese, iron, and lead. Lithium-ion and Ni-MH battery components such as cobalt, lithium, and rare earths are considered critical raw materials for important world economies and a reason for trade disputes. Critical raw materials are mineral resources of economic and strategic importance that have supply risk and lack of viable substitutes in certain applications. Cobalt mineral resources are scarce, and deposits are concentrated in the Democratic Republic of Congo, accounting for about 55% of world production. Lanthanides, such as lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, and neodymium have strategic value in the technological and mineral markets. China concentrates more than 36% of the reserves and approximately 60% of the world's production.
About 60% of the world's lithium reserves are concentrated in Chile, Argentina and Bolivia. The world's largest exporter of lithium is China. Zn-MnO2 batteries, because they are used in applications that require low energy, have a lower acquisition cost compared to other types of batteries, which means they are in high demand worldwide. Given its short useful life, it is a permanent source of environmental impact, if its disposal is inadequate. The metals nickel and cadmium, constituents of Ni-Cd batteries, are related to carcinogens and hazardous wastes.
Recycling and reusing of spent batteries is an alternative for obtaining critical or dangerous raw materials, preserving mineral resources, ensuring sustainability, and promoting the circular economy.
Topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Recycling and reuse of the lithium ion batteries;
- Recycling of nickel–metal hydride batteries;
- Recycling of zinc–manganese oxide batteries;
- Nickel–cadmium battery recycling;
- Hydrometallurgical recycling of spent batteries;
- Pyrometallurgical recycling of spent batteries;
- Biometallurgical processes;
- Direct recycling of spent batteries;
- Green recycling of spent batteries;
- Raw material obtained from the recycling of spent batteries.
Thanks and I hope you consider participating in this Special Issue.
Sincerely,
Dr. Marcos B.J.G. Freitas
Dr. Éric Marsalha Garcia
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- recycling
- batteries
- lithium-ion batteries
- nickel–metal hydride batteries
- zinc–manganese oxide batteries
- nickel–cadmium battery
- green recycling
- circular economy
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