Selective separation and recovery of Co(II) and Ni(II) from lithium-ion battery using Cyanex 272 adsorptive membrane

Abstract

● Cyanex 272-PVDF membranes efficiently extract Co(II).

● FTIR, SEM, and EDX confirmed homogeneous blending and enlarged pore size.

● Optimal Co(II)/Ni(II) separation factor of 209.5 was achieved at pH 6.8 and 75 °C.

● Membranes retained 98% adsorption capacity over 20 recycling cycles.

● A cost-effective, eco-friendly alternative to solvent extraction was presented.

Liquid-liquid solvent extraction, commonly used for high purity Co(II) extraction, suffers from drawbacks such as environmental pollution and high cost. To overcome these challenges, a novel Cyanex 272 (bis(2,4,4-trimethyl pentyl)phosphinic acid, HCyanex) adsorptive membrane (CAM) was synthesized using the phase inversion method with varied Cyanex 272 loadings (0–52.5%) to extract Co(II) from cobalt-nickel mixed sulfate solution. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) of as-prepared CAMs confirmed the successful and homogeneous blending of Cyanex 272 with poly(vinylidenefluoride) (PVDF), and increased pore sizes were observed with the addition of Cyanex 272. The highest Co (II) removal was achieved by the CAMs containing 33.2% weight percentage of Cyanex 272 to PVDF with a Langmuir sorption capacity of 1.42 mg/g. The extraction process for Co(II) and Ni(II) by CAMs was sensitive to pH and temperature, with an optimal separation factor of 209.5 at pH 6.8 and 75 °C. The adsorption process is endothermic. Additionally, the membrane exhibited excellent stability and durability, maintaining around 98% adsorption capacity after 20 cycles in the recycling process. These findings suggest that the as-prepared CAMs are a promising technology for the separation of Co(II) from Ni(II) in the recycling process of lithium-ion batteries.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Adsorption membrane / Cyanex 272 / Cobalt-nickel separation / Lithium-ion battery recycling / Phase inversion

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