Lithium-based draw solute for forward osmosis to treat wastewater discharged from lithium-ion battery manufacturing

Abstract

As draw solute is the core element of forward osmosis (FO) technology, here Li-Bet-Tf₂N synthesized from a customized ionic liquid betainium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([Hbet][Tf₂N]) and Li₂CO₃ recovered from lithium-ion battery (LIB) wastes is proposed as a novel draw solute to treat Li⁺-containing wastewater from LIB manufacturing through FO filtration. Having high dissociation ability and an extended structure, Li-Bet-Tf₂N generates a sufficiently high osmotic pressure to drive the FO filtration efficiently along with insignificant reverse solute diffusion. Li-Bet-Tf₂N produces a water flux of 21.3 L·(m²·h)⁻¹ at 1.0 mol∙L^–1 against deionized water, surpassing conventional NaCl and MgCl₂ draw solutes with a higher water recovery efficiency and a smaller solute loss. Li-Bet-Tf₂N induces a more stable and higher water permeation flux with a 10.0% water flux decline than NaCl and MgCl₂ for which the water fluxes decline 16.7% and 16.4%, respectively, during the treatment of 2000 mg∙L^–1 Li⁺-containing wastewater for 12 h. More remarkably, unlike other draw solutes which require intensive energy input and complicated processes in recycling, Li-Bet-Tf₂N is easily separated from water via solvent extraction. Reproducible results are achieved with the recycled Li-Bet-Tf₂N. Li-Bet-Tf₂N thus demonstrates a novel class of draw solute with great potentials to treat wastewater economically.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

forward osmosis / lithium-ion battery / draw solution / lithium-containing wastewater / water treatment

References

[1] Mu T, Zuo P, Lou S, Pan Q, Li Q, Du C, Gao Y, Cheng X, Ma Y, Yin G. A two dimensional nitrogen-rich carbon/silicon composite as high performance anode material for lithium ion batteries. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2018, 341: 37–46

[2] Chen H, Wang S, Liu X, Hou X, Chen F, Pan H, Qin H, Lam K H, Xia Y, Zhou G. Double-coated Si-based composite composed with carbon layer and graphene sheets with void spaces for lithium-ion batteries. Electrochimica Acta, 2018, 288: 134–143

[3] Wu J, Liu J, Wang Z, Gong X, Wang Y. A new design for Si wears double jackets used as a high-performance lithium-ion battery anode. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2019, 370: 565–572

[4] Chen H, He S, Hou X, Wang S, Chen F, Qin H, Xia Y, Zhou G. Nano-Si/C microsphere with hollow double spherical interlayer and submicron porous structure to enhance performance for lithium-ion battery anode. Electrochimica Acta, 2019, 312: 242–250

[5] Zhou Y, Hou X, Shen K, Wang S, Chen F, Li Y, Chen H, Wang B. Li_1.1Na_0.1Mn_0.534Ni_0.133Co_0.133O₂ as cathode with ameliorated electrochemical performance based on dual Li⁺/Na⁺ electrolyte. Ionics, 2018, 25(1): 51–59

[6] Miser H D, Stevens R E, Ogunseitan O A. Potential environmental and human health impacts of rechargeable lithium batteries in electronic waste. Environmental Science & Technology, 2013, 47(10): 5495–5503

[7] Mao X, Wong A A, Crawford R W. Cobalt toxicity—an emerging clinical problem in patients with metal-on-metal hip prostheses. Medical Journal of Australia, 2011, 194(12): 649–651

[8] Zhang Y, Cheng X, Jiang X, Urban J J, Lau C H, Liu S, Shao L. Robust natural nanocomposites realizing unprecedented ultrafast precise molecular separations. Materials Today, 2020, 36: 40–47

[9] Tang M J, Liu M L, Wang D A, Shao D D, Wang H J, Cui Z L, Cao X L, Sun S P. Precisely patterned nanostrand surface of cucurbituril[n]Based nanofiltration membranes for effective alcohol-water condensation. Nano Letters, 2020, 20(4): 2717–2723

[10] Song J, Nghiem L, Li X M, He T. Lithium extraction from Chinese salt-lake brines: opportunities, challenges, and future outlooks. Environmental Science. Water Research & Technology, 2017, 3(4): 593–597

[11] Luo X, Zhang K, Luo J, Luo S, Crittenden J. Capturing lithium from wastewater using a fixed bed packed with 3-D MnO₂ ion cages. Environmental Science & Technology, 2016, 50(23): 13002–13012

[12] Ge Q, Chung T S. Oxalic acid complexes: promising draw solutes for forward osmosis (FO) in protein enrichment. Chemical Communications, 2015, 51(23): 4854–4857

[13] Han G, Liang C Z, Chung T S, Weber M, Staudt C, Maletzko C. Combination of forward osmosis (FO) process with coagulation/flocculation (CF) for potential treatment of textile wastewater. Water Research, 2016, 91: 361–370

[14] Dong X, Ge Q. Metal ion-bridged forward osmosis membranes for efficient pharmaceutical wastewater reclamation. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2019, 11(40): 37163–37171

[15] Liu M L, Li L, Sun Y X, Fu Z J, Cao X L, Sun S P. Scalable conductive polymer membranes for ultrafast organic pollutants removal. Journal of Membrane Science, 2021, 617: 118644

[16] Zhang Y, Guo J, Han G, Bai Y, Ge Q, Ma J, Lau C H, Shao L. Molecularly soldered covalent organic frameworks for ultrafast precision sieving. Science Advances, 2021, 7(13): eabe8706

[17] Wang Z Y, Fu Z J, Shao D D, Lu M J, Xia Q C, Xiao H F, Su B W, Sun S P. Bridging the miscibility gap to fabricate delamination-free dual-layer nanofiltration membranes via incorporating fluoro substituted aromatic amine. Journal of Membrane Science, 2020, 610: 118270

[18] Han G, de Wit J S, Chung T S. Water reclamation from emulsified oily wastewater via effective forward osmosis hollow fiber membranes under the PRO mode. Water Research, 2015, 81: 54–63

[19] Mondal P, Tran A T K, der Bruggen B V. Removal of As(V) from simulated groundwater using forward osmosis: effect of competing and coexisting solutes. Desalination, 2014, 348: 33–38

[20] Ge Q, Su J, Amy G L, Chung T S. Exploration of polyelectrolytes as draw solutes in forward osmosis processes. Water Research, 2012, 46(4): 1318–1326

[21] Zhao Q, Chen N, Zhao D, Lu X. Thermoresponsive magnetic nanoparticles for seawater desalination. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2013, 5(21): 11453–11461

[22] Fan X, Liu H, Gao Y, Zou Z, Craig V S J, Zhang G, Liu G. Forward-osmosis desalination with poly(ionic liquid) hydrogels as smart draw agents. Advanced Materials, 2016, 28(21): 4156–4161

[23] Zhong Y, Wang X, Feng X, Telalovic S, Gnanou Y, Huang K W, Hu X, Lai Z. Osmotic heat engine using thermally responsive ionic liquids. Environmental Science & Technology, 2017, 51(16): 9403–9409

[24] Dutta D, Kumari A, Panda R, Jha S, Gupta D, Goel S, Jha M K. Close loop separation process for the recovery of Co, Cu, Mn, Fe and Li from spent lithium-ion batteries. Separation and Purification Technology, 2018, 200: 327–334

[25] Chen X, Ma H, Luo C, Zhou T. Recovery of valuable metals from waste cathode materials of spent lithium-ion batteries using mild phosphoric acid. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2017, 326: 77–86

[26] Nockemann P, Thijs B, Hecke K V, Meervelt L V, Binnemans K. Polynuclear metal complexes obtained from the task-specifific ionic liquid betainium bistriflimide. Crystal Growth & Design, 2008, 8(4): 1353–1363

[27] Wu Y, Zhang W, Ge Q. Piperazine-based functional materials as draw solutes for desalination via forward osmosis. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 2018, 6(11): 14170–14177

[28] Liao X, Zhang W, Ge Q. A cage-like supramolecular draw solute that promotes forward osmosis for wastewater remediation and source recovery. Journal of Membrane Science, 2020, 600: 117862

[29] Meng J, Lau C H, Xue Y, Zhang R, Cao B, Li P. Compatibilizing hydrophilic and hydrophobic polymers via spray coating for desalination. Journal of Materials Chemistry. A, Materials for Energy and Sustainability, 2020, 8(17): 8462–8468

[30] Stone M L, Wilson A D, Harrup M K, Stewart F F. An initial study of hexavalent phosphazene salts as draw solutes in forward osmosis. Desalination, 2013, 312: 130–136

[31] Razmjou A, Simon G P, Wang H. Effect of particle size on the performance of forward osmosis desalination by stimuli-responsive polymer hydrogels as a draw agent. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2013, 215: 913–920

[32] Zhang Y, Yang L, Pramoda K P, Gai W, Zhang S. Highly permeable and fouling resistant hollow fiber membranes for reverse osmosis. Chemical Engineering Science, 2019, 207: 903–910

[33] Brzezinski B, Olejnik J, Zundel G, Kramer R. Intramolecular O⁻Li⁺…ON⇌O⁻…Li⁺ON bonds with large Li⁺ polarizability. Chemical Physics Letters, 1989, 156(2-3): 213–217

[34] Laohaprapanona S, Fub Y J, Hua C C, Youc S J, Tsaia H A, Hunga W S, Leea K R, Lai J Y. Evaluation of a natural polymer-based cationic polyelectrolyte as a draw solute in forward osmosis. Desalination, 2017, 421: 72–78

[35] Inada A, Yumiya K, Takahashi T, Kumagai K, Hashizume Y, Matsuyam H. Development of thermoresponsive star oligomers with a glycerol backbone as the draw solute in forward osmosis process. Journal of Membrane Science, 2019, 574: 147–153

[36] Zhao D, Wang P, Zhao Q, Chen N, Lu X. Thermoresponsive copolymer-based draw solution for seawater desalination in a combined process of forward osmosis and membrane distillation. Desalination, 2014, 348: 26–32

[37] Gwak G, Jung B, Han S, Hong S. Evaluation of poly (aspartic acid sodium salt) as a draw solute for forward osmosis. Water Research, 2015, 80: 294–305

[38] Long Q, Qi G, Wang Y. Evaluation of renewable gluconate salts as draw solutes in forward osmosis process. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 2016, 4(1): 85–93

[39] Wang Z, Wu S, He Z. Production of electricity and water in an osmotic microbial fuel cell by using EDTA-2Na as a recoverable draw solute. Science of the Total Environment, 2019, 677: 382–389

[40] Hsu C H, Ma C, Bui N, Song Z, Wilson A D, Kostecki R, Urban J J. Enhanced forward osmosis desalination with a hybrid ionic liquid/hydrogel thermoresponsive draw agent system. ACS Omega, 2019, 4(2): 4296–4303

[41] Heikkinen J, Kyllönen H, Järvelä E, Grönroos A, Tang C Y. Ultrasound-assisted forward osmosis for mitigating internal concentration polarization. Journal of Membrane Science, 2017, 528: 147–154

[42] Xu W, Ge Q. Synthetic polymer materials for forward osmosis (FO) membranes and FO applications: a review. Reviews in Chemical Engineering, 2019, 35(2): 191–209

[43] Volkov A G, Paula S, Deamer D W. Two mechanisms of permeation of small neutral molecules and hydrated ions across phospholipid bilayers. Bioelectrochemistry and Bioenergetics, 1997, 42(2): 153–160

[44] Behboudia A, Ghiasia S, Mohammadia T, Ulbricht M. Preparation and characterization of asymmetric hollow fiber polyvinyl chloride (PVC) membrane for forward osmosis application. Separation and Purification Technology, 2021, 270(1): 118801

[45] Sun P, Jang Y, Ham S, Ryoo H S, Park H D. Effects of reverse solute diffusion on membrane biofouling in pressure-retarded osmosis processes. Desalination, 2021, 512(15): 115145

[46] She Q, Hou D, Liu J, Tan K H, Tang C Y. Effect of feed spacer induced membrane deformation on the performance of pressure retarded osmosis (PRO): implications for PRO process operation. Journal of Membrane Science, 2013, 445: 170–182

[47] She Q, Wang R, Fane A G, Tang C Y. Membrane fouling in osmotically driven membrane processes: a review. Journal of Membrane Science, 2016, 499: 201–233

[48] Xu W, Ge Q. Novel functionalized forward osmosis (FO) membranes for FO desalination: improved process performance and fouling resistance. Journal of Membrane Science, 2018, 555: 507–516

[49] Ge Q, Lau C H, Liu M. A novel multi-charged draw solute that removes organic arsenicals from water in a hybrid membrane process. Environmental Science & Technology, 2018, 52(6): 3812–3819

[50] Wu Y, Liu Y, Chen R, Zhang W, Ge Q. A pH-responsive supramolecular draw solute that achieves high-performance in arsenic removal via forward osmosis. Water Research, 2019, 165: 114993

[51] Ding C, Zhang X, Xiong S, Shen L, Yi M, Liu B, Wang Y. Organophosphonate draw solution for produced water treatment with effectively mitigated membrane fouling via forward osmosis. Journal of Membrane Science, 2020, 593: 117429

Acknowledgements

We thank the financial supports from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 21677035) and the Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province (Grant No. 2021J01629).

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2022 Higher Education Press