HS Anhalt once again represented at IFAT
As part of the joint initiative Research for the Future, Anhalt University of Applied Sciences will be represented at the upcoming IFAT with a new project. IFAT will take place from May 4-7, 2026. The joint stand will be located in Hall B4/Stand 141.
Battery Recycling
© AG Prof. Dr. Fabian Herz
Background
The recycling of transaction batteries, e.g. in cars, is currently carried out via deep discharge and disassembly as well as mechanical shredding with subsequent hydrometallurgical separation. Without deep discharge, when the battery is opened, the energy stored in the battery is converted into thermal energy - also known as thermal runaway, in which irreversible exothermic chain reactions occur, resulting in the release of flammable gases, smoke, fire and explosion. For device batteries from the consumer sector, e.g. for e-cigarettes, smartphones and notebooks, dismantling and deep discharge is not technically and economically feasible, so that no in-depth recycling process currently exists.
Results
A new thermal process for the direct treatment of lithium batteries is being developed for the efficient recovery of raw materials such as lithium, cobalt, nickel and aluminum. In particular, the thermal run-through of the battery under specifically induced and defined process conditions is the subject of the investigations. In addition, a database will be available for the first time to characterize and classify the battery systems with regard to the battery type, the heterogeneity of the battery components, the battery chemistry and the shape of the battery housing. Finally, a mathematical process model for a furnace reactor will be developed, which can be used to describe the phenomenology of thermal runaway coupled with the process engineering heat and solids transport models.
Contact Prof. Dr. Fabian Herz
