청정기술 (Clean Technology)

  • 제29권2호
  • /
  • Pages.87-94
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  • 2023
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  • 1598-9712(pISSN)
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  • 2288-0690(eISSN)
한국청정기술학회 (The Korean Society of Clean Technology)
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저농도 황산 용액 및 2-스텝 침출 방법을 이용한 폐LiFePO4 양극재로부터 효율적인 리튬의 선택적 회수

Efficient Selective Recovery of Lithium from Waste LiFePO4 Cathode Materials using Low Concentration Sulfuric Solution and 2-step Leaching Method

  • 김대원 (고등기술연구원 신소재공정센터) ;
  • 김희선 (고등기술연구원 신소재공정센터)
  • Dae-Weon Kim (Advanced Materials and Processing Center, Institute for Advanced Engineering (IAE)) ;
  • Hee-Seon Kim (Advanced Materials and Processing Center, Institute for Advanced Engineering (IAE))
  • 투고 : 2023.03.13
  • 심사 : 2023.05.11
  • 발행 : 2023.06.30
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초록

폐리튬계 이차전지로부터 유가금속을 회수하는 것은 한정된 지구자원의 활용 측면에서 매우 중요하다. 최근 자동차의 전지로 많이 사용하고 있는 LiFePO4 전지 양극재 성분에는 리튬이 약 5.2% 함유되어 있으며, 사용 후 전지에서 리튬 재활용을 통하여 다시 전지의 원료로써 사용할 수 있다. 본 연구에서는 폐LiFePO4 양극재 분말에 함유된 리튬을 선택적으로 침출하기 위하여 일반적으로 많이 사용하고 있는 무기산의 일종인 저농도 황산을 이용하였다. 그리고 각 성분의 침출율 및 분리효율을 비교·분석을 위하여 침출 시 광액농도를 변수로 2 스텝 침출 공정을 적용하여 최적의 침출조건을 도출하고자 하였다. 광액농도를 변수로 침출 시 철 및 인 성분이 거의 침출되지 않는 200 g/L의 광액농도 조건에서는 타 조건과 분리 효율이 약 200배 이상 높은 것으로 확인되었다. 이에 리튬의 선택적 침출 및 회수에 있어서 침출조건을 최적화하였다.

The recovery of valuable metals from waste lithium-based secondary batteries is very important in terms of efficiently utilizing earth's limited number of resources. Currently, the cathode material of a LiFePO4 battery, a type of battery which is widely used in automobiles, contains approximately 5% lithium. After use, the lithium in these batteries can be used again as a raw material for new batteries through lithium recycling. In this study, low-concentration sulfuric acid, a commonly used type of inorganic acid, was used to selectively leach the lithium contained in a waste LiFePO4 cathode material powder. In addition, in order to compare and analyze the leaching efficiency and separation efficiency of each component, the optimalleaching conditions were derived by applying a two-step leaching process with pulp density being used as a variable during leaching. When leaching with pulp density as a variable, it was confirmed that at a pulp density of 200 g/L, the separation efficiency was approximately 200 times higher than at other pulp densities because the iron and phosphorus components were hardly leached at this pulp density. Accordingly, the pulp density of 200 g/L was used tooptimize the leaching conditions for the selective leaching and recovery of lithium.

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과제정보

본 연구는 2022년도 산업통상자원부의 재원으로 한국에너지기술평가원의 지원을 받아 수행한 연구 과제입니다(재생자원의 저탄소 산업 원료화 기술개발 사업 No. 20229A10100100).

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