The batteries are ground up into what’s called “black mass“ and the components separated; first plastics from metals, then ferrous metals (magnetic) from nonferrous.Lets say everything goes electric, and there is plenty of power to support it.
What happens when all these batteries fail and what will they do with them?
Can they be reconditioned/refurbished? Or tossed into a landfill?
This is “the easy“ part. The rest of the components of black mass has not been commercially viable to extract and figured out yet. There is no known
Following the mechanical preparation, the black mass is typically subjected to a hydrometallurgical process. This involves using a leaching process, where the black mass is dissolved in a solution, often a strong acid or base. The purpose of this step is to liberate the valuable metals from the black mass, allowing them to be recovered.
Separation and Purification
After leaching, the solution contains a mixture of metals that must be separated. Techniques such as solvent extraction, ion exchange, or precipitation are used to separate the individual elements based on their chemical properties. Once separated, further purification processes are applied to ensure that the recovered metals meet the required quality standards for reuse.
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