IWC 24-15: Water Issues in Lithium Battery Production
Thomas E. Higgins, Ph.D., P.E., Worley Group, St Augustine, FL; Mary McLoud, Worley Group, Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Avijit Dey, Group, Houston, TX

Energy transition from fossil fuels will require 240 terawatt-hour (TWh) of batteries. Cathode active materials (CAM) are the major material cost. Nickel, manganese and cobalt (NMC batteries) are reacted with oxygen and sulfuric acid to produce metal sulfates, then mixed with sodium hydroxide and ammonia forming metal hydroxides, mixed with lithium hydroxide and heated to produce CAM, producing a wastewater containing sodium sulfate and ammonia. This wastewater can be evaporated (high energy usage and CAPEX) to remove ammonia and produce a sodium sulfate solid for sale or disposal. A promising alternative is bipolar electrodialysis, which can produce sodium hydroxide and sulfuric acid, both of which are used in CAM production.

Discusser: Zhendong Liu, LANXESS Corporation, Birmingham, NJ