Determination of Co, Li, Mn and Ni Levels of Waste Rechargeable Batteries Collected from Aba, Nigeria
Keywords:
Heavy metals, lithium, batteries, Nigeria, recyclingAbstract
The consumption of portable rechargeable batteries has increased since the introduction of mobile telecommunication and other portable electronics. This study assessed the levels of Co, Li, Mn and Ni in rechargeable batteries, and estimated recoverable metals from battery importation in Nigeria and the financial benefits of locally recycling them. Metal levels in the electrode materials of spent batteries were determined using AAS after digestion using acid mixture (2:1 HCl and HNO3). For Li-ion batteries, the results of Co, Li, Mn and Ni in the battery electrodes (mean ± standard deviation) are 28899±5277 mg/kg (range 33397-14706 mg/kg), 65961±8490 mg/kg (81159-47132 mg/kg), 18310±4961 mg/kg (32549-8821 mg/kg) and 24329±12271 mg/kg (35857-3808 mg/kg) respectively. Results for Li-polymer batteries are 29753±4649 mg/kg (range 33555-17743 mg/kg) for Co, 65477±5293 mg/kg (73284-55494 mg/kg) for Li, 21287±6628 mg/kg (30260-8461 mg/kg) for Mn and 20159±10120 mg/kg (32706-2766 mg/kg) for Ni. Corresponding values for NiMH are 66287±7487 mg/kg (71581-60993 mg/kg) for Co, 13851±2455 mg/kg (15587-12115 mg/kg) for Li, 32899±30689 mg/kg (54605-11192 mg/kg) for Mn and 82735±2610 mg/kg (84580-80889 mg/kg) for Ni. All Co, Mn and Ni exceeded the toxicity threshold limit concentration values (Co: 8000 mg/kg and Ni; 2000 mg/kg) indicating that these batteries should be treated as hazardous wastes. Import data from UN Comtrade showed that 2.6 million tonnes of lithium-ion and 4351 tonnes of mobile phone batteries were imported into Nigeria between 1999 and 2022. If the waste batteries are collected and recycled, the recoverable metals are worth US$6 Million and US$9914 respectively. This shows that much forex can be obtained from waste batteries if collected, recycled and sold in the mineral market. If disposed with municipal waste, they will contaminate the environment; endangering the lives of plants, animals and humans.
References
[1]. Liang, Y., Zhao, C. Z., Yuan, H., Chen, Y., Zhang, W., Huang, J. Q. and Zhang, Q. (2019). A review of rechargeable batteries for portable electronic devices. InfoMat, 1(1): 6-32. https://doi.org/10.1002/inf2.12000
[2]. Meshram, P., Mishra, A. and Sahu, R. (2020). Environmental impact of spent lithium ion batteries and green recycling perspectives by organic acids–A review. Chemosphere, 242: 125-291. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.125291
[3]. Mrozik, W., Rajaeifar, M. A., Heidrich, O. and Christensen, P. (2021). Environmental impacts, pollution sources and pathways of spent lithium-ion batteries. Energy and Environmental Science, 14(12): 6099-6121. https://doi.org/10.1039/D1EE00691F
[4]. Sambamurthy, S., Raghuvanshi, S. and Sangwan, K. S. (2021). Environmental impact of recycling spent lithium-ion batteries. Procedia CIRP, 98: 631-636. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2021.01.166
[5]. Saha, L., Kumar, V., Tiwari, J., Rawat, S., Singh, J. and Bauddh, K. (2021). Electronic waste and their leachates impact on human health and environment: Global ecological threat and management. Environmental Technology and Innovation, 24: 102049. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ets.2021.102049
[6]. Roy, J. J., Madhavi, S. and Cao, B. (2021). Metal extraction from spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) at high pulp density by environmentally friendly bioleaching process. Journal of Cleaner Production, 280: 124-242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.124242
[7]. Melchor-Martínez, E. M., Macias-Garbett, R., Malacara-Becerra, A., Iqbal, H. M., Sosa-Hernández, J. E. and Parra-Saldívar, R. (2021). Environmental impact of emerging contaminants from battery waste: A mini review. Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering, 3: 100-104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cscee.2021.100104
[8]. Othman, E. A., Van der Ham, A. G., Miedema, H. and Kersten, S. R. (2020). Recovery of metals from spent lithium-ion batteries using ionic liquid [P8888] [Oleate]. Separation and Purification Technology, 252: 117-435. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2020.117435
[9]. Pathak, P. and Chabhadiya, K. (2022). Recycling of rechargeable batteries: A sustainable tool for urban mining. In Handbook of Solid Waste Management: Sustainability through Circular Economy (pp. 1635-1652). Singapore: Springer Nature, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-4230-2_74
[10]. 10. Manhart, A., Betz, J., Schledcher, T., Hilber, I., Suit, R., Jing, H., Adogame, L., Clews, A. and Adegun, T. (2022). Management of end-of-life li-ion batteries through e-waste compensation in Nigeria: feasibility study on options for developing environmentally sound recycling solutions in Nigeria. PREVENT Waste Alliance. https://prevent-waste.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Management-of-End-of-life-Li-ion-Batteries-through-E-waste-Compensation-in-Nigeria_Feasibility-Study_ECoN.pdf
[11]. 11. Du, K., Ang, H., Wu, X. and Liu, Y. (2022). Progresses in sustainable recycling technology of spent lithium‐ion batteries. Energy and Environmental Materials, 5(4): 1012-1036. https://doi.org/10.1002/eem-.12271
[12]. 12. Delvasto, P., Rodríguez, R. O. and Blanco, S. (2016). Processing of spent Ni-MH batteries for the recovery of cobalt, nickel and rare earth elements bearing materials by means of a chemical and electrochemical sequential process. In Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 687, (1): 12-107. http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/687/1/012107
[13]. 13. .Farghal, F. E. and Abdel-Khalek, M. A. (2021). Exploitation of spent nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) batteries as a source of value-added products. Physicochemical Problems of Mineral Processing, 56(7): 95-101. https://doi.org/10.37190/ppmp/142929
[14]. 14. Liu, F., Peng, C., Porvali, A., Wang, Z., Wilson, B. P. and Lundström, M. (2019). Synergistic recovery of valuable metals from spent nickel–metal hydride batteries and lithium-ion batteries. ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, 7(19): 16103-16111. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.9b02863
[15]. 15. Bae, H. and Kim, Y. (2021). Technologies of lithium recycling from waste lithium ion batteries: a review. Materials advances, 2(10): 3234-3250. https://doi.org/10.1039/DIMA00216
[16]. 16. Zhou, M., Liaw, S., Sun, Q. and He, R. (2021). Pretreatment, recycling and regeneration strategies of cathode active materials from spent lithium- ion batteries. Journal of Material Sciences and Engineering, 11: 8.
[17]. 17. Nwachukwu C.I (2024). Determination of metal levels of waste rechargeable batteries and estimation of recoverable metals from battery importation in Nigeria. MSc. thesis, Department of Chemical Sciences, Rhema University, Aba, Nigeria for the award of MSc. in Environmental Chemistry.
[18]. 18. Nnorom, I. C. and Osibanjo, O. (2009). Heavy metal characterization of waste portable rechargeable batteries used in mobile phones. International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, 6: 641-650. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03326105.
[19]. 19. Vasconcelos, D. D. S., Tenório, J. A. S., Botelho Junior, A. B. and Espinosa, D. C. R. (2023). Circular recycling strategies for LFP batteries: A review focusing on hydrometallurgy sustainable processing. Metals, 13 (3): 543. https://doi.org/10.3390/met13030543
[20]. 20. Kim, Y., Seong, W. and Manthiram, A. (2020). Cobalt-free, high nickel layered oxide cathodes for lithium-ion batteries: Progress, challenges and perspectives. Energy and Storage Materials, 34,250-259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ensm.2020.09.020
[21]. 21. Luo, Y., Wei, H., Tang, L., Huang, Y., Wavy, Z., He, Z., Yan, C., Mao, J., Dai, K. and Zheng, J. (2022). Nickel-rich and cobalt – free layered oxide cathode materials for Lithium ion batteries. Energy Storage Materials, 50: 574-307. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ensm.2022.05.019
[22]. 22. Biswal, B.K. and Balasubramanian, R. (2023). Recovery of valuable metals from spent lithium-ion batteries using microbial agents for bioleaching: a review. Frontiers in Microbiology, 14: 1197081. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1197081
[23]. 23. Bolan, N., Hoang, S., Tanveer, M., Wang, L., Bolan, S. and Sooriyakumar, P. (2021). From mine to mind and mobiles – Lithium contamination and its risk management. Environmental Pollution 290: 118067. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2021.118067
[24]. 24 UN Comtrade Database (2023). United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database. Accessed on October 10, 2023. https://comtradeplus.un.org.
[25]. 25. Annamalai, M. and Gurumuthy, K. (2020). Characterization of end-of-life mobile phone printed circuit boards for its elemental composition and beneficiation analysis. Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association, 71 (3): 315-327. https://doi.org/10.1080/10962247.2020.1813836.
[26]. 26. Babayemi, J., Nnorom, I. and Weber, R. (2024). Comprehensive inventory of imports of electrical and electronic equipment and related plastics and POPs plastic additives into Nigeria in the past 32 years (1999-2022). Emerging Contaminants 11:100423. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emcon.2024.100423
[27]. 27. Lithium-Price-Chart-Historical Data-News (2024). Trading Economics. Accessed on March 28, 2024. https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/lithium
[28]. 28. LME Cobalt/Metal exchange (2020). London Metal Exchange. https://www.lme.com/en/metals/ev/lme- cobalt#Summary
[29]. 29. Manganese Price Chart, China Manganese Price Today (2024) Shanghai Metals Market. Accessed on March 28, 2024. https://price.metal.com/Manganese
[30]. 30. Nickel Real –Time Quote – Markets Insider. GO IN-DEPTH ON Nickel PRICE (2024). Accessed on March 28, 2024. https://price.metal.com/Manganese
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 International Journal of Applied Sciences: Current and Future Research Trends
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who submit papers with this journal agree to the following terms.
