{
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    "type": "Term",
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      "definition": "Recycling by dissolving black mass in acid and separating the metals as salts by precipitation and solvent extraction. It recovers lithium and gives battery-grade products, at the cost of chemical consumption and wastewater.",
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      "mentions": [
        "precipitation"
      ]
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        "section": "topic-recycling",
        "definition": "The dark powder of mixed electrode materials left after end-of-life cells are discharged, shredded and separated from their casings, foils and separators. It is the traded intermediate that hydrometallurgical refiners buy.",
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        "section": "topic-recycling",
        "definition": "Recycling by smelting whole cells or modules in a furnace, which recovers nickel, cobalt and copper as an alloy but loses lithium, aluminium and graphite to the slag. It is robust to mixed feed and is often the first step before a hydrometallurgical finish.",
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        "section": "topic-recycling",
        "definition": "Recovering cathode material with its crystal structure intact and relithiating it for reuse, instead of breaking it down to metal salts. It promises lower energy and cost but must handle a mix of chemistries and ages.",
        "related": [
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          "hydrometallurgy",
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        "id": "recycling",
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        "section": "topic-recycling",
        "definition": "Recovering lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper and aluminium from end-of-life cells and production scrap. Scrap is today’s main feedstock; vehicle returns will dominate in the 2030s, and regulation now sets minimum recovery rates.",
        "related": [
          "black-mass",
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        "mentions": [
          "cobalt",
          "production-scrap"
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    {
      "id": "term:leaching",
      "type": "Term",
      "label": "Leaching",
      "properties": {
        "id": "leaching",
        "name": "Leaching",
        "aka": [
          "acid leaching",
          "reductive leaching"
        ],
        "section": "topic-recycling",
        "definition": "Dissolving the metals in black mass, usually in sulfuric acid with hydrogen peroxide as a reducing agent so cobalt and manganese go into solution as their more soluble lower oxidation state. The leach liquor carries lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese, plus impurities such as copper and aluminium.",
        "related": [
          "hydrometallurgy",
          "black-mass",
          "solvent-extraction",
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          "bioleaching",
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        "url": "https://lemonergy.com/learn/glossary/leaching/",
        "mentions": [
          "oxidation",
          "cobalt",
          "manganese"
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      }
    },
    {
      "id": "term:solvent-extraction",
      "type": "Term",
      "label": "Solvent extraction",
      "properties": {
        "id": "solvent-extraction",
        "name": "Solvent extraction",
        "abbr": "SX",
        "aka": [
          "liquid–liquid extraction",
          "Cyanex 272",
          "D2EHPA"
        ],
        "section": "topic-recycling",
        "definition": "Separating metals in the leach liquor by contacting it with an organic phase carrying an extractant that picks up one metal at a time, controlled by pH: manganese, then cobalt, then nickel, leaving lithium in the water. It is how recyclers reach battery-grade sulfates.",
        "related": [
          "leaching",
          "precipitation",
          "crystallisation",
          "hydrometallurgy"
        ],
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        "mentions": [
          "cobalt",
          "manganese"
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      }
    },
    {
      "id": "term:precipitation",
      "type": "Term",
      "label": "Precipitation",
      "properties": {
        "id": "precipitation",
        "name": "Precipitation",
        "aka": [
          "hydroxide precipitation",
          "carbonate precipitation"
        ],
        "section": "topic-recycling",
        "definition": "Recovering a dissolved metal as a solid by adding a reagent that makes it insoluble — nickel and cobalt as hydroxides, lithium as carbonate with sodium carbonate. Co-precipitating nickel, manganese and cobalt together gives a precursor directly.",
        "related": [
          "solvent-extraction",
          "lithium-recovery",
          "precursor",
          "crystallisation"
        ],
        "url": "https://lemonergy.com/learn/glossary/precipitation/",
        "mentions": [
          "cobalt",
          "manganese"
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "reference:harper-recycling",
      "type": "Reference",
      "label": "Recycling lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles",
      "properties": {
        "title": "Recycling lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles",
        "publisher": "Nature",
        "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1682-5",
        "type": "Review article",
        "scope": "Reuse, disassembly and mechanical, hydro-, pyro- and direct recycling routes.",
        "year": 2019,
        "authors": [
          "Gavin Harper et al."
        ],
        "accessed": "2026-10-27"
      }
    }
  ]
}