University researchers in Texas are developing a nontoxic leaching solution to recover cobalt and lithium from end-of-life batteries.Two Rice University scientists have formulated a solvent that can extract material
from the cathodes used in lithium-ion batteries. The solution is termed a “deep eutectic solvent” and is made from choline chloride and ethylene glycol.
It has been shown to recover a “significant” amount of cobalt from used batteries, according to a university release.
“The nice thing about this deep eutectic solvent is that it can dissolve a wide variety of metal oxides,” said researcher Kimmai Tran, in a statement.
“It’s literally made of a chicken feed additive and a common plastic precursor that, when mixed together at room temperature, form a clear, relatively nontoxic solution that has effective solvating properties.”
https://resource-recycling.com/e-scrap/2019/04/17/mild-solvent-extracts-cobalt-from-batteries/
