Marko Hanželic
Toyota because of the model Prius has been working with high voltage batteries for some time. During that time, it has developed an intensive battery recycling business that it says is on the verge of making the new non-combustion process ecological step forward.
The technology was introduced by the company Toyota Chemical Engineering (TCE), who says that until now recycling meant burning old batteries and collecting important materials from the ashes. It does work, but it is carbon intensive and is not the most efficient way to obtain all the materials in the cell.
But A subsidiary of Toyota it now works by distilling the electrolytic liquid that all batteries contain. By its very nature it is a liquid very flammable, so burning the entire battery used to be the easiest way solving the problem, what to do with it after the end of its life.
Now they are planning distillation of the electrolyte, to make it less flammable and safer to use. This will allow TCE to be more thorough destroyed the batteries and simply cut the cells so that it will be easier to sort them and extract material from them.
The remainder is called "black mass" and according to of the TCE company contains aluminum, iron and "many rare metals". The company claims the new method reduces CO2 emissions when recycling batteries and improves recovery rates.
"Not only will it contribute to carbon neutrality, but it will also enable the sorting and recovery of materials that cannot be recovered through conventional incineration, which will significantly increase the recovery rate," is for toyota times said Kenchiro Muramatsu, member of the raw materials department. "This is a step towards achieving a sustainable circular economy."
