Search

The ever‐increasing quantity of spent lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) is both a potential environmental pollutant and a valuable resource. The spent LIBs recycling mainly aimed at the separation of valuable elements. Some issues still exist in these processes such as high energy consumption and complex separation procedures. This study avoided element separation and proposed a facile approach to transform spent LiCoO2 electrode into a lithium (Li)‐doped graphitic carbon nitride (g‐C3N4)/Co3O4 composite photocatalyst through one‐pot in situ thermal reduction. During the thermal process, melamine served as the reductant for LiCoO2 decomposition and the raw material for g‐C3N4 production. Li was in situ doped in g‐C3N4 and the generated Co3O4 was in situ integrated, forming a Li‐doped g‐C3N4/Co3O4 composite photocatalyst. This special composite exhibited an enhanced photocatalytic performance, and its photocatalytic H2 production and RhB degradation rates were 8.7 and 6.8 times higher than those of g‐C3N4. The experiments combined with DFT calculation revealed that such enhanced photocatalytic efficiency was ascribed to the synergy effect of Li doping and Co3O4 integrating, which extended the visible light absorption (450–900 nm) and facilitated the charge transfer and separation. This study transforms waste into a high‐efficient catalyst, realizing high‐valued utilization of waste and environmental protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recycling of spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has been one of the global environmental concerns due to their huge quantity and hazardous and valuable character. The existing spent LIB processing mainly focuses on element separation, which is usually complex and energy consuming and even causes new environmental issues. This study breaks through the traditional element separation and utilizes spent LIBs for photocatalytic application. Through facile one-pot sintering of a spent LiCoO2 cathode, melamine and NH4Cl at 530 °C, we introduced a Li–Cl–Co anion–cation to synergistically regulate the π-conjugated structure of g-C3N4 for enhancing its photocatalytic activity. The Li–Cl–Co anion–cation was stabilized in g-C3N4 through Li–N, Li–Cl, Cl–C and Co–N bonds. The Co among the adjacent tri-s-triazine units decreased the bandgap to lower the electron transition energy. The Li and Cl intercalation respectively decreases and increases the interlayer spacing, leading to a gradient decrease in the energy barrier for dramatically boosting the charge migration and separation between g-C3N4 layers. These special characteristics synergistically contribute to the superior photocatalytic performance. The simulated sunlight photocatalytic H2 evolution and RhB degradation rates of this special photocatalyst were 12.6 and 15.3 times higher than those of pristine g-C3N4. This study avoids element separation and distinctively utilizes spent LIBs for photocatalytic application, which minimizes the environmental risks associated with recycling. Our study also reveals a synergetic concept of recycling wastes as high-efficiency photocatalysts for environmental protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a well-known xenobiotic endocrine disrupting chemical, with estrogenic activity and many other potential biological effects. Although multiple toxicities have been reported for BPA, molecular mechanisms underlying the transgenerational toxic effects of BPA are still underestimated. Parental F0 fish were exposed to 1.0 μM BPA or control (0.1% DMSO, v/v) for 7 days. Eggs (F1) were collected and kept in control medium until 4.5 or 120 h post fertilization (hpf). RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was conducted on embryos and larvae, to discover differentially expressed genes (DEGs), and then KEGG pathway, GO enrichment and GSEA were performed to interpret functional ontology. Histopathology was performed to explore the morphological and structural alterations in liver tissues of zebrafish larvae (120 hpf) after parental BPA exposure. Parental BPA exposure induced global transcriptomic changes in zebrafish embryos and larvae. For embryos, epigenetic regulation genes were decidedly affected, highlighted epigenotoxicity might involve in the transgenerational effects during embryogenesis and early development. By further investigation on its delayed effects, our RNA-Seq data of larvae suggested ROS metabolic process, apoptosis, p53 and MAPK signaling pathway were concentrated, indicating defensive cellular processes still involved in protecting against BPA toxicity. Furthermore, parental BPA-treated larvae manifested hepatic injury by histopathological analysis. Parental BPA exposure led to global transcriptomic changes involved in epigenetic regulation, oxidative stress, apoptosis and DNA damage of offspring. These findings advanced the field of the parental-mediated subsequent generational toxic effects of BPA. Image 1 • Parental BPA exposure caused transcriptomic changes in zebrafish embryos and larvae. • Epigenetic inheritance may involve in the transgenerational effects of BPA. • Six KEGG pathways were enriched in zebrafish larvae after parental BPA exposure. • Parental BPA exposure induced hepatic lipids accumulation of F1 progeny. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review discusses the critical role of fundamentals of battery recycling in addressing the challenges posed by the increasing number of spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to the widespread use of electric vehicles and portable electronics, by providing the theoretical basis and technical support for recycling spent LIBs, including battery classification, ultrasonic flaw detection, pretreatment ( e.g. , discharging, mechanical crushing, and physical separation), electrolyte recovery, direct regeneration, and theoretical calculations and simulations. Physical chemistry principles are essential for achieving effective separation of different components through methods like screening, magnetic separation, and flotation. Electrolyte recovery involves separation and purification of electrolytes through advanced physical and chemical techniques. Direct regeneration technology restores the structure of electrode materials at the microscopic scale, requiring precise control of the physical state and crystal structure of the material. Physical processes such as phase changes, solubility, and diffusion are fundamental to techniques like solid-state sintering, eutectic-salt treatment, and hydrothermal methods. Theoretical calculations and simulations help predict the behaviour of materials during recycling, guiding process optimization. This review provides insights into understanding and improving the recycling process, emphasizing the central role of physical chemistry principles in addressing environmental and energy issues. It is valuable for promoting innovation in spent LIB recycling processes and is expected to stimulate interest among researchers and manufacturers.

The recycling of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is essential for promoting the closed-loop sustainable development of the LIB industry. However, progress in LIB recycling technologies is slow. There are significant gaps between academic research and industrial application, which hinder the industrialization of new technologies and the improvement of existing ones. Here we show a universal model for spent LIB-lithium recycling ( SliRec ) to evaluate the applicability and upgrading potential across various recycling technologies. Instead of modeling the entire recycling process, we focus on partial processes to enable a comparative analysis of environmental and economic impacts. We find a strong correlation between lithium concentration (LC) and the advancement of recycling technologies, where higher LC is associated with a reduced carbon footprint and increased economic benefits. The implementation of high-level recycling technology can result in an 85.91% reduction in carbon footprint and a 5.97-fold increase in economic returns. Additionally, we explore the effects of technological interventions through scenario analysis, demonstrating that while low-level recycling technology faces more substantial challenges in upgrading, it holds greater potential for reducing carbon emissions (-2.38 kg CO 2 -eq mol -1 ) and enhancing economic benefits (CNY 11.04 mol -1 ). Our findings emphasize the significance of process modeling in evaluating the quality of spent LIB recycling technologies, and can provide comparative information for the application of emerging technologies or the upgrade of existing ones., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing financial interests., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Spent lithium ion battery (LIB) recovery is becoming quite urgent for environmental protection and social needs due to the rapid progress in LIB industries. However, recycling technologies cannot keep up with the exaltation of the LIB market. Technological improvement of processing spent batteries is necessary for industrial application. In this paper, spent LIB recovery processes are classified into three steps for discussion: gathering electrode materials, separating metal elements, and recycling separated metals. Detailed discussion and analysis are conducted in every step to provide beneficial advice for environmental protection and technology improvement of spent LIB recovery. Besides, the practical industrial recycling processes are introduced according to their advantages and disadvantages. And some recommendations are provided for existing problems. Based on current recycling technologies, the challenges for spent LIB recovery are summarized and discussed from technological and environmental perspectives. Furthermore, great effort should be made to promote the development of spent LIB recovery in future research as follows: (1) gathering high-purity electrode materials by mechanical pretreatment; (2) green metals leaching from electrode materials; (3) targeted extraction of metals from electrode materials.

Exposure to fine particulate matter 2.5 (PM 2.5 ) is associated with adverse health effects, varying by its components. The health-related effects of PM 2.5 exposure from ore mining may be different from those of environment pollution. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different concentrations of PM 2.5 exposure on the cardio-pulmonary function of manganese mining workers. A total of 280 dust-exposed workers who were involved in different types of work in an open-pit manganese mine were randomly selected. According to the different concentrations of PM 2.5 in the working environment, the workers were divided into an exposed group and a control group. The electrocardiogram, blood pressure, and multiple lung function parameters of the two groups were measured and analyzed. The PM 2.5 exposed group had significantly lower values in the pulmonary function indexes of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1.0), maximum mid expiratory flow (MMEF), peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR), percentage of peak expiratory flow out of the overall expiratory flow volume (PEFR%), forced expiratory flow at 25% and 75% of forced vital capacity (FEF 25, FEF75), forced expiratory flow when 25%, 50%, and 75% of forced vital capacity has been exhaled (FEF25%,FEF50%, FEF75%), and FEV1.0/FVC% (the percentage of the predicted value of forced vital capacity) than the control group (all p < 0.05). Both groups had mild or moderate lung injury, most of which was restrictive ventilatory disorder, and there was significant difference in the prevalence rate of restrictive respiratory dysfunction between the two groups (41.4% vs. 23.6%, p = 0.016). Electrocardiogram (ECG) abnormalities, especially sinus bradycardia, were shown in both groups, but there was no statistical difference of the prevalence rate between the two groups ( p > 0.05). Also, no significant difference of the prevalence rate of hypertension was observed between the PM2.5 exposure and control groups ( p > 0.05). PM 2.5 exposure was associated with pulmonary function damage of the workers in the open-pit manganese mine, and the major injury was restrictive ventilatory disorder. The early effect of PM 2.5 exposure on the cardiovascular system was uncertain at current exposure levels and exposure time.