Critical strategies for recycling process of graphite from spent lithium-ion batteries: A review

With the explosive growth of spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), the effective recycling of graphite as a key negative electrode material has become economically attractive and environmentally significant. This review reports the recent research progress in recycling strategies for spent graphite from the perspectives of separation and reuse. First, technologies for separating graphite powder after direct crushing and artificially splitting are introduced, and the shortcomings of cost control and separation efficiency are reported. Subsequently, the reuse of recycled spent graphite is systematically summarized in terms of regeneration into battery materials, low-value utilization, and high-value conversion. Special attention has been paid to different aging degrees of retired batteries, as well as the performance and applications of regenerated graphite. Finally, upcoming research efforts on evaluation the standard establishment, development of advanced technology, and potential value enhancement to meet practical the industrial conditions and facilitate industry installation are proposed.