{
  "node": {
    "id": "term:smelting",
    "type": "Term",
    "label": "Smelting",
    "properties": {
      "id": "smelting",
      "name": "Smelting",
      "aka": [
        "alloy",
        "matte",
        "slag"
      ],
      "section": "topic-recycling",
      "definition": "Melting battery material in a furnace with fluxes so that cobalt, nickel and copper collect as a metal alloy or matte and the rest — lithium, aluminium, manganese — goes to the slag. The organic parts and graphite serve as fuel and reductant.",
      "related": [
        "pyrometallurgy",
        "lithium-recovery",
        "hydrometallurgy"
      ],
      "url": "https://lemonergy.com/learn/glossary/smelting/",
      "mentions": [
        "graphite",
        "cobalt",
        "manganese"
      ]
    }
  },
  "edges": [
    {
      "id": "edge:4398",
      "source": "term:smelting",
      "target": "topic:topic-recycling",
      "type": "belongsTo",
      "properties": {
        "sourceFile": "terms.json"
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "edge:4399",
      "source": "term:smelting",
      "target": "term:pyrometallurgy",
      "type": "relatedTo",
      "properties": {
        "sourceFile": "terms.json",
        "meaning": "Related context; not a causal claim"
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "edge:4400",
      "source": "term:smelting",
      "target": "term:lithium-recovery",
      "type": "relatedTo",
      "properties": {
        "sourceFile": "terms.json",
        "meaning": "Related context; not a causal claim"
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "edge:4401",
      "source": "term:smelting",
      "target": "term:hydrometallurgy",
      "type": "relatedTo",
      "properties": {
        "sourceFile": "terms.json",
        "meaning": "Related context; not a causal claim"
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "edge:mentions/smelting/graphite",
      "source": "term:smelting",
      "target": "term:graphite",
      "type": "mentions",
      "properties": {
        "sourceFile": "terms.json",
        "method": "build_glossary.mention_index + mentions",
        "field": "definition",
        "meaning": "Text mention; not a causal claim"
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "edge:mentions/smelting/cobalt",
      "source": "term:smelting",
      "target": "term:cobalt",
      "type": "mentions",
      "properties": {
        "sourceFile": "terms.json",
        "method": "build_glossary.mention_index + mentions",
        "field": "definition",
        "meaning": "Text mention; not a causal claim"
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "edge:mentions/smelting/manganese",
      "source": "term:smelting",
      "target": "term:manganese",
      "type": "mentions",
      "properties": {
        "sourceFile": "terms.json",
        "method": "build_glossary.mention_index + mentions",
        "field": "definition",
        "meaning": "Text mention; not a causal claim"
      }
    }
  ],
  "neighbors": [
    {
      "id": "topic:topic-recycling",
      "type": "Topic",
      "label": "Recycling and end of life",
      "properties": {
        "id": "topic-recycling",
        "name": "Recycling and end of life",
        "lede": "What happens to a battery after its first life: reuse, and the recycling routes that recover its materials, step by step.",
        "context": "Distinguish recovered material from a qualified product.",
        "example": "High mass recovery alone does not establish battery-grade purity or refining energy demand.",
        "lesson_url": "https://lemonergy.com/learn/fundamentals/cell-production/",
        "lesson_label": "Open process context"
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "term:pyrometallurgy",
      "type": "Term",
      "label": "Pyrometallurgy",
      "properties": {
        "id": "pyrometallurgy",
        "name": "Pyrometallurgy",
        "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.",
        "related": [
          "hydrometallurgy",
          "black-mass",
          "recycling",
          "smelting"
        ],
        "url": "https://lemonergy.com/learn/glossary/pyrometallurgy/",
        "mentions": [
          "graphite",
          "cobalt"
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "term:lithium-recovery",
      "type": "Term",
      "label": "Lithium recovery",
      "properties": {
        "id": "lithium-recovery",
        "name": "Lithium recovery",
        "aka": [
          "early lithium extraction",
          "lithium-first recovery"
        ],
        "section": "topic-recycling",
        "definition": "Getting the lithium back, which smelting loses to slag and older hydrometallurgical flowsheets left until last at low yield. Newer routes take it out first — by roasting or carbonating black mass and washing out a lithium salt — before the other metals are leached.",
        "related": [
          "lithium-carbonate",
          "precipitation",
          "collection-target",
          "pyrometallurgy"
        ],
        "url": "https://lemonergy.com/learn/glossary/lithium-recovery/",
        "mentions": [
          "lithium-salt",
          "black-mass",
          "smelting"
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "term:hydrometallurgy",
      "type": "Term",
      "label": "Hydrometallurgy",
      "properties": {
        "id": "hydrometallurgy",
        "name": "Hydrometallurgy",
        "section": "topic-recycling",
        "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.",
        "related": [
          "black-mass",
          "pyrometallurgy",
          "direct-recycling",
          "recycling",
          "leaching",
          "solvent-extraction"
        ],
        "url": "https://lemonergy.com/learn/glossary/hydrometallurgy/",
        "mentions": [
          "precipitation"
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "term:graphite",
      "type": "Term",
      "label": "Graphite",
      "properties": {
        "id": "graphite",
        "name": "Graphite",
        "section": "topic-components",
        "definition": "Layered carbon, the negative active material of nearly all lithium-ion cells. Lithium intercalates between its layers up to LiC₆, a theoretical 372 mAh/g, at a potential about 0.1 V above lithium metal.",
        "related": [
          "anode-active-material",
          "intercalation",
          "natural-graphite",
          "synthetic-graphite",
          "lithium-plating"
        ],
        "lesson": "fundamentals/cell-anatomy/#components",
        "example": {
          "title": "Compare matching mass bases",
          "text": "A graphite value per gram of active material cannot be directly compared with a value including binder, additive and foil."
        },
        "url": "https://lemonergy.com/learn/glossary/graphite/",
        "mentions": [
          "milliampere-hour",
          "active-material"
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "term:cobalt",
      "type": "Term",
      "label": "Cobalt",
      "properties": {
        "id": "cobalt",
        "name": "Cobalt",
        "section": "topic-sustainability",
        "definition": "The metal that stabilises layered-oxide cathodes, mined largely in the Democratic Republic of Congo under scrutiny for working conditions. Its price and ethics have driven the industry from LCO and NMC111 towards high-nickel and cobalt-free LFP.",
        "related": [
          "nmc",
          "lco",
          "high-nickel",
          "critical-raw-materials",
          "due-diligence"
        ],
        "url": "https://lemonergy.com/learn/glossary/cobalt/",
        "mentions": []
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "term:manganese",
      "type": "Term",
      "label": "Manganese",
      "properties": {
        "id": "manganese",
        "name": "Manganese",
        "aka": [
          "manganese sulfate",
          "high-purity manganese sulfate",
          "HPMSM"
        ],
        "section": "topic-sustainability",
        "definition": "A cheap, abundant metal used in NMC, LMO and LMFP positive electrodes and in alkaline cells. Ore comes mostly from South Africa, Gabon and Australia, but about 95 % of battery-grade high-purity manganese sulfate was refined in China in 2024, which puts manganese on critical-raw-material lists despite plentiful reserves.",
        "related": [
          "nmc",
          "lmo",
          "lmfp",
          "critical-raw-materials",
          "cobalt",
          "nickel-sulfate"
        ],
        "url": "https://lemonergy.com/learn/glossary/manganese/",
        "mentions": []
      }
    }
  ]
}