Today, with the rapid development of the global battery industry, lithium battery recycling technology has become a key link in sustainable development. Mechanical decomposition is an important method in lithium battery recycling, mainly using physical means to disassemble and separate used lithium batteries to recover useful materials. The specific process includes the following steps:
Pre-treatment stage: The foundation of safe disassembly
1. Deep discharge technology
Professional discharge equipment is used to discharge retired batteries by 100% to ensure the safety of the disassembly process. Data shows that the short-circuit risk of batteries without discharge treatment increases by 63% (refer to the "International Battery Recycling Standards").
2 Intelligent shell stripping process
The aluminum/steel shells are precisely removed by laser cutting or mechanical clamps, while the electrode components are retained intact. Advanced equipment can achieve a shell separation rate of 99.2%, which is five times more efficient than traditional manual disassembly.
Two-stage crushing process: The key to particle size control
Primary crushing: Use jaw crushers to break the batteries into 3-5 cm particles.
Fine crushing: Process through impact crushers to 0.1-2 mm fine powder.
Professional tests show that reasonable particle size control can increase the subsequent separation efficiency by more than 40%.
Intelligent sorting technology: Multi-dimensional material separation
1. Vibrating screen system
Equipped with multi-layer screens (50-200 mesh), it achieves particle size classification and can separate over 95% of plastic separator fragments.
2. Magnetic separation and eddy current separation combination
Magnetic separator: Extract iron-based materials (recovery rate ≥ 98%)
Eddy current separation: Separate copper and aluminum metals (purity up to 99.6%)
This combined process has passed the CE certification and can handle up to 5 tons per hour.
3. Electrostatic separation technology
Utilizing the difference in dielectric constants of different materials, it precisely separates positive and negative electrode materials from carbon powder, with a key metal recovery rate exceeding 92%.
High-value material regeneration and utilization
The separated cathode materials (containing LiCoO2/NMC, etc.) can be processed through hydrometallurgy or solid-state sintering to extract strategic metals such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel. The latest technology can increase lithium recovery to 98.5%, far exceeding the industry average.
Industry data shows that the combination of mechanical decomposition and chemical recycling can achieve a comprehensive battery recycling rate of over 98%, which is 15% higher than that of a single process. Currently, most leading enterprises adopt the "mechanical pre-treatment + hydrometallurgical recycling" combined process to achieve the best recycling effect and maximize economic and environmental benefits.
