Challenges of prospective life cycle assessment of emerging recycling processes: case study of battery materials recovery

Abstract

The aim of recycling is not only to preserve raw materials within a circular economy but also to enable a decreased environmental impact by secondary production of materials compared to primary production and other end-of-life options. In order to ensure the sound development of emerging recycling processes from an environmental perspective, the method of life cycle assessment (LCA) should be applied from the early stage on. While several frameworks for prospective LCA of emerging technologies have been proposed in recent years, existing approaches are not intended for application to recycling processes. Therefore, this paper analyses the specific challenges in the LCA of emerging recycling processes as for example varying material quality, definition of system boundaries or handling of by-products in combination with changing process chains and lack of available data. Initial methodological recommendations are given and selectively applied to the use case of Lithium-ion battery recycling. Two emerging recycling processes are evaluated assessing the environmental impacts of battery graphite recovery by flotation combined with leaching and of re-synthesis of cathode active materials using hydrometallurgical processes. The assessment results approve the importance of methodological choice within the LCA of emerging recycling processes and its influence on the further process development.