Unlocking Insights: A Systematic Survey of Material Composition in Lithium-Ion Battery Cells for Recycling Solutions

Battery recycling involves the recovery of materials from end-of-life (EOL) batteries, which are subsequently reused in the manufacturing of new products. Metals such as cobalt, lithium, nickel, manganese, aluminium, and copper are essential components of the electrodes of common lithium-ion batteries. In light of the growing demand for advancements in battery recycling, there is a critical need to start systematically documenting the chemistry of different types of batteries and to monitor the changes within their internal composition between the different states of charge, such as full charge, full discharge, deep discharge or shipping-state. In this work, a new methodology for a complex, quick, cheap, and effective material composition survey is presented. This methodology was applied to three types of cylindrical (18650) cells with two different cathode materials, specifically nickel cobalt aluminium (NCA) and nickel manganese cobalt (NMC), all with a capacity range from 3350 to 3500 mAh. This work offers a comprehensive, step-by-step description of the versatile battery research process, serving as the foundation for a streamlined and effective methodology for obtaining selected chemical and material parameters. The research endeavours to compare the material composition of lithium-ion cells at various states of charge to assess recycling potential and establish a database containing battery parameters. The results are essential for the automation and roboticization of the advanced recycling sector.