Green and Efficient Lithium Extraction from Spent NCM Batteries via Electromagnetic Radiation

The conventional recycling of spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is hindered by high energy consumption and severe environmental pollution. In this study, a novel method utilizing high-frequency electromagnetic radiation was proposed to process the black mass derived from spent NCM-LIBs, significantly reducing both energy consumption and chemical reagent usage. Conductive carbon black was introduced as an electromagnetic-wave-absorbing additive to improve the electromagnetic energy into thermal energy conversion efficiency during electromagnetic radiation. As a result, the decomposition and reduction of NCM materials can be completed within just 10 min at a microwave power of 500 W. Following electromagnetic irradiation, lithium was efficiently extracted via simple water leaching, achieving an extraction efficiency of 88.24%. Furthermore, a microwave heating device based on traveling-wave propagation was developed. Unlike conventional small-scale microwave systems that employ resonant cavities, this design enables improved heating uniformity, higher efficiency, and greater scalability for industrial microwave-assisted chemical processes.