Regeneration of used batteries via electrode–electrolyte interphase dissolution

userbinator•1 day ago

Just like the periodic news about a new study on a method that makes batteries last effectively forever, this is unlikely to be implemented.

wolfi1•about 23 hours ago

the problem is rather to automate this and upscale this and I'm not sure how safe this method is. generally speaking if the EU makes battery recycling mandatory it definitely would benefit from a method where you don't have to grind the battery. I see this more as a PoC which can be further explored

sandworm101•about 18 hours ago

Oldschool lead-acid batteries need not be destroyed to be recycled. They can, and are, easily disassembled and refurbished. For all the lithium hype, lead-acid remains a valid option for non-mobile applications where storage density is not relevant.

theoreticalmal•about 17 hours ago

Where can I get cheap recycled lead acid batteries? I like them more the li-ion because they’re more forgiving to temperature changes and have a much lower chance of catching on fire

fuzzfactor•about 14 hours ago

The process of dying and rejuvenation would be somewhat analogous chemically.

In this case the electrode is metallic lead and the electrolyte is water containing sulfuric acid.

The electrode-electrolyte "interphase" is a solid coating based on lead sulfate, that forms on the lead plates after extended recharge cycles. This doesn't redissolve very well during use after a while when the electrolyte has become oversaturated with lead ions, and the electrodes have been "replated" so many times. Especially when recharged from near-death.

One antique way of restoration without disassembly was to agitate the battery using an industrial vibrator to loosen up the solids, then dump out the (highly toxic lead-containing) electrolyte to physically remove as much sludge as possible. Followed by repeated filling using distilled water, agitation, and dumping until the waste water looks OK. One final fill with DI water (which acts as a very weak electrolyte at this point) and a reverse charge until an amp or two has been reached for a bit, to deplate as much oxidized coating as possible into a virgin solvent.

More agitation, dumping, rinsing, and finally replace with fresh acid.

Desperate measures for desperate times, not too economical today unless similar wastewater is already being handled in a scale that dwarfs a single battery, and fresh acid is obtained surplus or purchased at bulk pricing as well.

lightedman•about 14 hours ago

I'm hearing in other chats that this is actually a rehash of a nonsensical recycling attempt done a couple of years ago.

So I want to ask a question. What in this study would throw the HN people off as incorrect or raising a flag? Is terminology being used incorrectly? Is data vs shown photographs not quite matching up with what is being stated? I'm no battery expert, so I'm quite curious as to why I'm hearing that this is fake from people that work directly in the battery industry (and they're not big companies, most of them are individuals providing various services, some in recycling, some in custom manufacturing, some in installation.)

dgellow•about 10 hours ago

What are they saying?

b112•about 18 hours ago

Yup, saw this in a documentary. A bunch of tourists were stranded on a desert island, but this professor had them re-energize them with some coconuts and bananas.

Longest 3 hour tour ever.

craniumjello•about 18 hours ago

Tesla recycling for long time good

burnt-resistor•1 day ago

This isn't really a viable technology because it requires careful invasive chemical injection into risky cell chemistries. Generally, liquid electrolyte and plastic separator NMC, LFP, and LiPo should be banned for all but hobby uses when far safer solid state cells with ceramic separators exist such as those offered by ProLogium. NMC are extremely dangerous under deflagration, and LFP create huge amounts of colorless and odorless hydrogen gas that has already blown up many improperly engineered buildings that used them and assumed they were "safe". Real solid state electrolyte chemistries tend to have much slower passivation growth than liquid chemistries.

Regeneration of used batteries via electrode–electrolyte interphase dissolution

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