RECYCLING AND REUSING OF USED

LITHIUM ION BATTERIES

A
SEMINAR REPORT
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the
award of B.Tech Degree in
ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION
ENGINEERING
of Cochin University of Science and Technology
By
JISHA R KRISHNAN
(Reg.No.13142629)
Under the guidence of
Dr. RAMESH P

Department of Electronics and Communication

College of Engineering Munnar-685612

November 2016
 DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND
COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING MUNNAR

CERTIFICATE
Certified that this report entitled "RECYCLING AND REUSING OF USED LITHIUM ION
BATTERIES" is the paper presented by Ms.Jisha R Krishnan(Reg.No.13142629) on
22/10/2016 in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the award of the Degree of Bachelor
of Technology in Electronics and Communication Engineering of Cochin University of
Science and Technology.

1. Dr. Ramesh P, Associate Professor, Seminar Guide

2. Dr. Ramesh P, Associate Professor, Seminar Coordinator

3. External Examiner.

Head of the Department

Date:

i
 Declaration

I hereby declare that the Seminar Report entitled, "RECYCLING AND REUSING OF USED
LITHIUM ION BATTERIES” was carried out and written by me under the guidance of Dr.
Ramesh P ,Associate Professor, Department of Electronics and Communications Engineering,
College of Engineering, Munnar. This work has not been previously formed the basis for the
award of any degree or diploma or certificate nor has been submitted elsewhere for the award
of any degree or diploma.

Jisha R Krishnan
(Reg.No.131426269)
November 2016

ii
 Acknowledgements

First of all I submit all glory and honour to GOD ALMIGHTY for his eternal love and
protection throughout the Seminar. The tremendous amount of help that I received from a
number of people gave me the incentive to complete this Seminar to the best of my capability.
I would like to express my sincere thanks to my guide Dr. Ramesh P, Head of the Department
and Associate Professor, Department of Electronics and Communications Engineering,
College of Engineering Munnar for his valuable suggestions and for the overwhelming
concern and guidance from the beginning to the end of my seminar. I extend my wholehearted
thanks to Ms. Resha Mary Tom for her suggestions and help throughout my seminar.

Jisha R Krishnan

iii
 Abstract

The e-waste management has got much importance in the present life. In order to reduce
the hazardous effects of the e-wastes, their proper management is necessary. The outdated
mobile phones and the Lithium ion batteries increase the amount of e-waste and its improper
disposal causes environmental pollutions. This document describes about the methods and
processes included in the recycling and reusing of the Lithium ion batteries. The recycling
of the batteries results in the extraction of the metals and minerals from it by physical and
chemical processes. These minerals can be used to manufacture new batteries and this in
turn result in the savings in the natural resources. The batteries which can be used again are
used to manufacture power banks. Used Lithium ion batteries can also be used as the storage
unit of the solar powered lighting system, which in turn reduces the cost of the system.
Key words- Lithium ion batteries, recycling, reuse, power banks.

iv
Table of contents

Abstract v

List of figures vi

1 INTRODUCTION 1

2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2
2.1 History of Lithium ion Batteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.2 Environmental impact of lithium ion battery disposal . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.3 Current Process for Recycling Lithium ion Batteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.3.1 Recupyl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.3.2 Umicore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

3 RECYCLING OF LITHIUM ION BATTERIES 5

3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.2 Structure of lithium-ion rechargeable battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.2.1 Anode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.2.2 Cathode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.2.3 Binder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.2.4 Electrolyte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.2.5 Separator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

4 RECYCLING OF LITHIUM ION BATTERIES 9

4.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4.2 Recycling Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4.2.1 Hybrid Recycling Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
4.3 Evaluation of Recycling Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
 Table of contents

5 REUSING TECHNIQUES OF LITHIUM ION BATTERIES 14

5.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
5.2 Recycling mobile phone batteries for solar lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
5.3 Saftey of Reused Batteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
5.3.1 Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
5.3.2 Optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
5.4 Selection of Batteries for Solar lighting System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

6 CONCLUSION 19
6.1 Future Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
6.2 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

References 20

vi
List of figures

2.1 a. Recupy process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

2.2 b. Umicore process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

3.1 Structure of lithium-ion rechargeable battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

3.2 Composition of a lithium-ion battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

4.1 Recycling Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

4.2 Recycling Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
4.3 Sankey diagram of recycling process for portable Li-ion batteries . . . . . . 13

5.1 Solar lighting system using Li ion batteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

5.2 Pack of 3 Galaxy Note 2 batteries with a protection circuit . . . . . . . . . 17

vii
Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

Nowadays the amount of e-wastes is increasing. The disposal and management of these
kinds of waste is very difficult. Simply burning of e-wastes causes poisonous gases or green
houses gases which in turn causes harm to the environment. Hence to reduce the amount
of e-wastes is that to find the items which can be recycled and can be reused. The items
which cannot be reused again can be disposed properly, and by recycling and reusing of
the electronic wastes, we can cut down the amount of e-wastes . Fast evolution in the field
of mobile phones leads to its premature replacement for newer, faster, and variety design.
The outdated mobile phone increases the amount of e-waste and improper disposal of these
causes environmental pollution and global warming . Due to the properties of the lithium
ion battery (LIB) that powers them, has the life span of 3 years after recycling them. The
batteries which cannot be used again are given to the recycling process.
This e-waste can be valued by giving to the batteries a second life as energy storage for solar
lighting. In fact, it can be a real opportunity for access to electricity in remote rural areas of
developing countries for low cost and quality lighting. We show that the usage of recycled
mobile phone batteries associated with a solar panel and a light emitting diode (LED) lamp
can be a good replacement for candles and kerosene lamps that are hazardous and only give
poor lighting quality. Such a replacement can be done for a much lower cost than current
expenses, better quality of light and contributes to poverty alleviation and jobs creation. This
overcomes the challenges of cost and durability in small off-grid photovoltaic systems.

1
Chapter 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 History of Lithium ion Batteries

Initial experimentation on the use of lithium in batteries began in 1912 by an American
named Gilbert Newton Lewis. Disposable (primary) lithium batteries were then developed in
the 1950s. In the 1970s, Panasonic was the first company to make primary lithium batteries
commercially available.
Rechargeable (secondary) lithium batteries, also known as LIBs were first studied in the
1970s by M.S. Whittingham at Exxon. Whittingham’s lithium battery was made of a
titanium disulfide cathode and a lithium-aluminium anode. The instability of metallic lithium
presented a safety risk, so focus shifted to the use of LiCoO2 as the cathode material and
carbon as the anode material. In 1991, LIBs were commercially rolled out by Sony in Japan.
Primary lithium batteries are used in medical devices (eg. pacemakers and implants), watches,
calculators, cameras and oceanographic instrumentation. The typical lifespan of a primary
lithium battery is 15 years. LIBs are mainly used in portable electronic devices, power tools
and electric vehicles. They typically offer up to 1200 recharge cycles. The popularity of
these batteries is a result of them the highest energy density (W/kg) compared to all other
battery chemistries currently in use.

2.2 Environmental impact of lithium ion battery disposal

There are three potential risks associated with disposal of lithium batteries to landfills. These
are listed below:
• Lithium batteries can explode when damaged or exposed to high temperatures.
• Heavy metals (such as lead, manganese, nickel, copper and cobalt) used in lithium batteries

2
 2.3 Current Process for Recycling Lithium ion Batteries

can contaminate soil and ground water.

• The electrolytes used in the batteries are toxic and flammable
Even with the potential risks associated with lithium batteries, worldwide there is currently
no law prohibiting the disposal of lithium batteries specifically.

2.3 Current Process for Recycling Lithium ion Batteries

2.3.1 Recupyl
The Recupyl process, developed by Recupyl SA, was piloted in France and implemented
in Singapore. The process is able to treat 320 tpa of lithium batteries, including primary
and secondary battery types. The process uses a combination of physical and chemical
treatment steps to produce lithium carbonate. The battery scrap is first treated by crushing,
magnetic separation and density separation to produce a fine powder. The powder is then
fed to a hydrometallurgical process, consisting of hydrolysis, leaching and precipitation
steps. Lithium is recovered ad Li2CO3 and cobalt is recovered as cobalt hydroxide. The
fine material from the physical separation process is treated by hydrolysis. The material is
suspended in stirred water. A solution of lithium hydroxide is added to achieve a pH of 12-13
(Tedjar Foudraz, 2010). Lithium from the electrodes dissolves to produce lithium salts in
solution. The hydrolysis reaction generates hydrogen. Inert gas from the crushing step is
used to vent off the hydrogen. The metal oxides and carbon are suspended in solution and are
separated out by filtration. The lithium-containing solution is sent to a lithium precipitation
step. Lithium is precipitated from the alkaline leach solution as Li2CO3, using CO2 gas.
The source of CO2 is the off-gas from the crushing stage. Precipitation occurs at a pH of 9,
which is achieved by the addition of acid. The precipitate is washed with a CO2-saturated
solution and dried at 105°C.

2.3.2 Umicore
The Umicore process is a pyrometallurgical process which uses the patented IsaSmelt furnace
technology. The process treats LIBs and Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries. There is no
pre-treatment of batteries prior to smelting. Cobalt and nickel are recovered from the alloy
phase and lithium is lost to the slag. The IsaSmelt furnace is a furnace with a top submerged
lance. Batteries are combined with limestone, sand, coke and slag formers and fed to the
furnace through the lance. The feed should contain 30-50The middle zone of the furnace
is the plastic pyrolysing zone. The temperature is this zone is around 700C. The plastic
is removed from the batteries by pyrolysis. This is an exothermic process, and the energy

3
 2.3 Current Process for Recycling Lithium ion Batteries

Fig. 2.1 a. Recupy process

Fig. 2.2 b. Umicore process

released is used to heat the gases which move upward to the pre-heating zone. The remaining
material is reductively smelted in the smelting zone, at the bottom of the furnace. Smelting
takes place at temperatures of 1200-1450°C. In the smelting zone, a flow of pre-heated,
oxygen-enriched air is injected via tuyeres into the bottom of the furnace. Copper, cobalt,
nickel and some iron report to the alloy phase. The slag phase contains lithium oxide, as well
as oxides of other metals, including aluminium, silicon, calcium and the remaining iron. The
slag is formed into concrete blocks and sold to the construction industry. The alloy phase is
treated in a hydrometallurgical process.

4
Chapter 3

RECYCLING OF LITHIUM ION

BATTERIES

3.1 Introduction
A battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into
electrical energy, and batteries have become a common power source for many household
and industrial applications. Generally, the battery can be divided for primary battery and
rechargeable battery, mainly including lead-acid batteries, nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd)batteries,
nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries, and lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Compared to other
rechargeable batteries, some lithium batteries have a higher energy density, higher cell voltage,
less memory effect, low selfdischarge, and very good cycle life, and are environmentally
sound as well as a simple to charge and maintain. The growth of energy demand for
consumer electronics (CE) and electric vehicle (EV) greatly increases batteries consumption
and, consequently, increases the produced metal-containing hazardous waste. Similar to
common electronics, LIBs are discarded at the end-of-life phase, globally undergoing from
e-wonderland to e-wasteland in the absence of adequate policy and feasible technology.5
Thus, recycling and recovery of the major components of the spent LIBs appears to be a
beneficial way to prevent environmental pollution and raw material consumption.

3.2 Structure of lithium-ion rechargeable battery

A LIB comprises a cathode, an anode, organic electrolyte, and a separator. The lamination of
a cathode, an anode, and a separator by a pressing makes those electric contacts. The anode
is a copper plate coated with a mixture of carbon graphite, conductor, PVDF binder, and

5
 3.2 Structure of lithium-ion rechargeable battery

additives. Similarly, the cathode is an aluminium plate coated with a mixture of active
cathode material, electric conductor, PVDF binder, and additives. LiCoO2 is commonly used
as an active cathodic material for almost all commercialized LIBs due to its suitable
performances such as high energy density, ease of manufacture, etc. The chemical reactions
in the two electrodes can be simply expressed as follows

The cathodic reaction:

6C + xLi+ + xeC6 Lix (3.1)

The anodic reaction:

LiCoO2 Li(1x)CoO2 + xLi+ + xe (3.2)

Where the forward direction is the charge reaction and the reverse is the discharge reaction.
The energy is stored in these batteries through the movement of lithium ions from the cathode
to the anode (charge process of the battery) or vice versa (discharge process) in the equation.3

LiCoO2 + 6CLi(1x)CoO2 +C6 Lix (3.3)

3.2.1 Anode
The active anode material in commercial batteries is usually carbon. Other anode materials
than carbon are possible but at present rather uncommon. In practice the active material
is bound onto a copper conductor plate using a polymer binder. There is ongoing research
on the anode construction but this is mainly focused on modifying the structural properties
rather than switching materials.

3.2.2 Cathode
The cathode conductor plate is made of aluminum but the active material displays far more
variability than the anode. Compared to primary lithium battery’s (PLB) metallic lithium as
cathode, commercial LIBs are currently using various types of cathode materials. It is always
a lithium containing material, usually an oxide, but there is diversity in the composition,
mainly including lithium cobalt oxide(LiCoO2 ), lithium manganese oxide(LiMn2 O4 ),
lithium nickel oxide (LiNiO2 ). But the most commonly used material in cathodes is LiCoO2
due to its good performance in terms of high specific energy density and durability.

6
 3.2 Structure of lithium-ion rechargeable battery

Fig. 3.1 Structure of lithium-ion rechargeable battery

3.2.3 Binder
The active electrode materials are constituted of granulates and attached onto the collector
plates using a binder. Because of the reactive environment inside a battery the binder
material must withstand both heat and electricity. The binder material commonly used
is polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), which is preferred because of its thermoresistant and
nonreactive properties.

3.2.4 Electrolyte
To allow for ionic transport between the electrodes an electrolyte is required. Electrolytes
act as the medium through which ions diffuse from one electrode to the other, thereby
converting chemical energy to electrical energy. The electrolyte is an organic liquid with
dissolved substances. Possible electrolyte salts areLiPF6 ,LiBF4 ,LiCF3 SO3 , orLi(SO2CF3 )2 .
However,LiPF6 is by far the mostly used one.

3.2.5 Separator
The separator keeps an even spacing between the anode and the cathode and prevents short
circuiting from direct contact of the electrodes. The separator is a microporous film usually

7
 3.2 Structure of lithium-ion rechargeable battery

made of polymers such as polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP). The separator also
functions as a safety device; if the cell overheats the porous film smelts and irreversibly seals
the electrodes from each other.

Fig. 3.2 Composition of a lithium-ion battery

8
Chapter 4

RECYCLING OF LITHIUM ION

BATTERIES

4.1 Introduction
Batteries and accumulators play an essential role to ensure that many daily used products,
appliances and services work properly, constituting an indispensable energy source in our
society. Rechargeable Li-ion battery applications in consumer products are fastly growing,
resulting in increasing resources demand: it is for example estimated that battery applications
account for nearly 25 percentage of the worldwide cobalt demand in 2007. The discovery of
potential environmental and human health effects from disposal of millions of rechargeable
lithium ion batteries each year has led scientists to recommend stronger government policies
to encourage recovery, recycling and reuse of lithium ion (Li ion) battery materials.

4.2 Recycling Process

According to the EU Battery directive the recycling of batteries means “ The processing
of waste batteries and accumulators for generation of products that can be directly reused
in battery production or in other applications or process”. It excludes the possibilities of
disposal or energy recovery. Repair and reuse of the spent batteries is impossible. Thus the
only way of recycling is the recovery of value materials. One third of the production cost
for a portable Li ion battery cells are related to the materials. It contains high amounts high
amounts of valuable metals which are present in the form of metals or inorganic metallic
compounds.
Mechanical processing plant for Li ion battery cells, the batteries are crushed in CO2 gas

9
 4.2 Recycling Process

atmosphere. Thereby the volatile organic electrolyte evaporates and is collected as unstable
condensate. As the lithium is very reactive with moisture, the CO2 atmosphere will isolate
the lithium from air.

Fig. 4.1 Recycling Process

4.2.1 Hybrid Recycling Process

In the figure 4.2, during the pretreatment the Lithium ion battery packs are Li dissembled
and the single battery cells are laid open. Thereby a material fraction which contains
electronic parts and plastics is generated. Due to the copper content in this material fraction
can be further processed.
The second process step contains pyrolysis in a resistance heated retort furnace at
temperatures of maximum 250C. the battery cells are deactivated safely for further
processing and the volatile organic electrolyte evaporates and is caught in a downstream
condenser.
Third process step, the deactivated cells are crushed safely in a second mill and in a
disintegrator. After crushing, sorting is done by means of vibrating screen, magnetic
separator in a drum separator and air separation in a zig-zag classifier. The separated
fractions are provided to the agglomeration side and the pellets are then given to
Pyrometallurgical processing where the metals like Nickel Cobalt are separated.
Pyrometallurgical processing includes graphite minimization and carbo-reductive melting.

10
 4.2 Recycling Process

Fig. 4.2 Recycling Techniques

11
 4.3 Evaluation of Recycling Processes

The remaining slag is given to hydrometallurgical processing where the lithium is separated
as lithium carbonate. Hydrometallurgical process includes leaching and precipitation.

4.3 Evaluation of Recycling Processes

Looking at the extractive metallurgy of cobalt and manganese three slag compositions have
been chosen for melting down the electrode material pellets in an electric arc furnace. The
thermochemical calculations show that in principle all three slags are suitable but the results
are based on a chemical equilibrium, i.e. kinetic aspects cannot be considered. Therefore the
test series in the electric arc furnace is important to evaluate all three slags under realistic
melting conditions. It turns out that settling of metal droplets and generation of a metal
phase is only possible if a slag phase with a low viscosity is used. That means that kinetic
aspects play a decisive role. At the same time the slag protects the metal phase from oxygen
and helps to retain heat by acting as a heat insulator. Last but not least the electrical
resistance of the slag is important for the processing in the electric arc furnace. Nevertheless
the size of the lab-scale electric arc furnace does not guarantee an equal heat balance for
each test and thus reproducible test results are hard to achieve. Furthermore mass losses
caused by diffuse emissions are high compared to the total input mass. Regardless, with the
help of the lab-scale test series it is possible to find the best slag composition for a further
test campaign in technical-scale by looking at the melting behaviour in interaction with the
electrode material pellets.
A lithium enrichment can only be achieved in the flue dust and the slag has to be crushed and
milled before leaching. Therefore the lithium recovery from the slag after one use has to be
questioned. An improvement might be only to tap the metal and to leave the slag in the
furnace for reuse. Thus the slag would be saturated with cobalt and manganese and further
slagging of these metals could be minimized. The high graphite content of the electrode
material pellets leads to problems during processing in the electric arc furnace, as already
mentioned, although a certain amount of graphite is required for the carbo-reductive melting.
To minimize the graphite content to a desired amount the pellets are treated in a rotary kiln.
Of course this treatment means an additional extensive and cost-intensive process step.
Another possibility to minimize the graphite content could be to run the electric arc furnace
similar to a shaft furnace, i.e. to have a submerged electrode in a packed bed inside the
furnace whereby the melting takes place in the bottom part and the upward moving heat can
be used to partly burn the graphite by adding secondary air.
The Sankey diagram of the total recycling process for portable Li-ion batteries is shown in
Fig. 3.4. Out of an input mass of 100 percentage spent Li-ion battery cells 49.08 percenatge

12
 4.3 Evaluation of Recycling Processes

of utilisable material fractions for further processing as well as directly utilisable recycling
products can be recovered. The electrolyte condensate accounts for another 16.41 percentage
and is marked separately in the diagram because the recovery of pure electrolyte components
has not been realized yet but is considered feasible. At the end 34.51 percentage of residues
and losses are generated which, amongst others, include CO respectively CO2 , slagged
battery components and diffuse emissions like losses during charging or spillings during
tapping of the electric arc furnace.

Fig. 4.3 Sankey diagram of recycling process for portable Li-ion batteries

The recycling of the lithium ion batteries are done by combining Pyrometallurgy and
Hydrometallurgy processes to recover all the possible metals including Lithium, nickel
and cobalt. Pyrometallurgical process creates environmental pollution and cannot recover
Lithium metal. Hydrometallurgical process recovers lithium metals in a carbonate compound
form. These processes are efficient in recycling and recovering the metallic compounds from
the rechargeable lithium ion batteries.

13
Chapter 5

REUSING TECHNIQUES OF
LITHIUM ION BATTERIES

5.1 Introduction
Technically solar energy is often suggested as a solution to provide electricity where it
is needed, especially in remote locations of developing countries. Photovoltaic energy is
continuously proving itself efficient throughout the world. The technology had known
tremendous evolution along with a huge price drop making it more and more affordable.
The evolution in photovoltaic (PV) energy can be attributed to the development of the
individual different parts of a standalone solar system and the expansion of grid-tie systems.
Nevertheless the energy storage that largely remains based on lead-acid batteries has not
known much change. In fact the price of solar panels has considerably dropped even if the
technology is still in general made of mono or polycrystalline wafer based silicone solar cells.
The thin film solar panels are acquiring more and more importance but are yet to be major
players in the energy market. The lighting technology has changed from incandescent lamps
to highly efficient light emitting diode (LED) lamps with a price continuously decreasing
every year.

5.2 Recycling mobile phone batteries for solar lighting

As an illustration, a single standard Li-ion mobile phone battery of 1000 mAh capacity can
power a 1W LED lamp is shown in figure 5.1, for about 3 h or a 0.5W lamp with enough
brightness for reading or writing for about 6 h. This can be a real support for populations
particularly those below poverty line, especially students who can work in safer and healthier

14
 5.2 Recycling mobile phone batteries for solar lighting

conditions than with a candle or kerosene lamp. It can as well assist some income generating
activities at night as street vending. Such a lighting system can be recharged with a small
solar panel without any maintenance required. The total manufacturing cost of such a
complete lighting system can be under 25 dollars, based on prototypes built and tested by the
authors, for a lifespan of about 3 years without any maintenance needed before the battery
may need to be replaced. This can be applied for a full lighting system for a room with for
example a common 5 W/12 V LED bulb as already demonstrated by the authors in ref [2].
The Li-ion cells can be assembled in series or parallel depending on the targeted applications.
The made battery pack can as well be used to charge mobile phones instead of walking
kilometers and pay fees.
In Fig. 5.1 we present the performance of a prototype system with a 5 W/12 V LED lamp
and a battery pack made of 3 Samsung Galaxy Note 2 batteries in series during discharge. In
the experiment we used 2012 batteries. The battery pack was initially fully charged under a
constant voltage of 12.6 V with a solar panel (5 W/21 V) and a step down DC-DC converter.
The voltage of the battery pack initially at 12.4 V was continuously measured with a
computer operated system and recorded every minute till the light went off at 9.01 V after
287 minutes of operation. So the 5W LED lamp was powered for almost 5 has presented.
This supports our suggestion of a second life for mobile phone batteries for lighting
applications, particularly in rural areas of developing countries. Obviously a greater
autonomy will be obtained with a lower wattage light or a larger battery pack.

Fig. 5.1 Solar lighting system using Li ion batteries

15
 5.3 Saftey of Reused Batteries

5.3 Saftey of Reused Batteries

Li-ion batteries for mobile phone and other portable devices contain many levels of protection
to assure safety under general circumstances when handled by the user. Nevertheless, when
assembled in a pack, an external protection circuit is mandatory for safety first and longer
lifespan (Figure 5.2). A particular attention should be given to the assembly and safety
of the battery pack. The system should be safe; safety should never be compromised for
performance. The batteries used to make a 12 V pack are not identical so the use of an
appropriate balancing circuit is necessary. It will avoid overcharge or over discharge of any
cell within the pack; that would be hazardous and destructive for the system. The mobile
phone recycled battery packs should be assembled by well trained personnels with correct
equipment. The protection circuit manages the system and prevents it to operate out of its
safe operating area. It has two main functions to achieve safety, performance and longer
lifespan:

5.3.1 Monitoring
The protection circuit that manages the system will monitor the state in the pack for different
parameters such as:
• Voltage: total voltage, voltages of individual cells, minimum and maximum cell voltage.
• State of charge or depth of discharge of the pack and the individual cells.
• Current: current in or out of the individual battery.

5.3.2 Optimization
In order to maximize the batteries’ capacity and prevent localized under-charging or
over-charging, the circuit will actively ensure that all the cells that compose the battery pack
are kept at the same voltage or state of charge, through balancing. The circuit can balance
the cells for example by:
• Distributing energy from the most charged cells to the least charged cells.
• Reducing the charging current to a sufficiently low level that will not damage fully charged
cells, while less charged cells may continue to charge.
As well while recycling mobile phone batteries, it should be avoided to use generic batteries
as they do not always offer same safety guarantees than original batteries.

16
 5.4 Selection of Batteries for Solar lighting System

Fig. 5.2 Pack of 3 Galaxy Note 2 batteries with a protection circuit

5.4 Selection of Batteries for Solar lighting System

In addition to the use of a protection circuit, to build reliable systems the batteries used
for a given pack should be selected among similar units, as indicated by the manufacturer,
and arranged by real capacity as measured (but not just as indicated by the manufacturer
because the batteries are used and their capacity has decreased). That will determine the
characteristics of the final pack as autonomy and the sale price.
The first test that can be adopted is a self-discharge test by leaving a fully charged battery
unconnected for a week and then we measured the capacity percentage using a phone (just
put the battery in a Galaxy Note 2 phone and read the remaining charge percentage as in
normal usage). Then measured between 3 and 4 percent discharge after a week for the
batteries presented in this study.The alternative battery capacity measurement method is,
by fully charging a single battery and discharging it at 1/5C (one fifth of capacity in Ah,
example 0.62 A for a 3.1 Ah battery) in a resistive load for 1 h. Then, using a phone, the
battery state of charge in percentage is measured again. Batteries with similar final capacity
percentage at ±2 percent of the medium capacity in a group of 3 batteries are then qualified
to be assembled together. We measured 71,70 and 73 percent of charge remaining for the
Galaxy Note 2 batteries presented in this paper. This time can be reduced and the current

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 5.4 Selection of Batteries for Solar lighting System

increased but that would lead to less accuracy, a good compromise should be found. Other
methods of selection are possible.
For similar nominal and actual capacities, batteries can as well be selected and grouped at
the collection centers based on their manufacturing date if indicated by the manufacturer.
With a consideration of one cycle per day, a 2 years old battery may have done about 750
cycles out of a lifespan of up to 2000 cycles. The battery will have up to 1250 cycles left, so
more than 3 years of life left when the phone is recycled. This can be compared to the 500
cycles that offer a new lead acid battery.
The smart phone batteries have enough life left even after the mobile phones are discarded.
These batteries are tested and grouped together equipped with protective circuit to replace
the storage battery for solar powered lighting system. It is very cheap battery storage than
the storage battery usually used for solar powered lighting system.

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Chapter 6

CONCLUSION

6.1 Future Work

The batteries that can be reused again are tested and grouped together in a pack of 3 and
equipped with the protective circuit to form the storage battery stack for solar powered
lighting system. The procedure to test these batteries for selection is only designed in a
experimental method. The procedure is so time consuming and in future we have to find a
method to test these batteries in a commercial manner.

6.2 Conclusion
The efficient method of e-waste management is to reduce, recycle and reuse. The lithium
batteries which power up the mobile phones is a hazardous e-waste that causes pollution of
the environment. The recycling of the lithium ion batteries extracts the minerals and metals
from it by physical and chemical processes. Hence by the proper management of the e-waste
caused by the mobile phones gives an opportunity of natural resource saving. The extracted
of metals and cathode components from the LIBs can be used to manufacture new LIBs. The
reusable batteries can be installed as a power bank for portable electronic devices and the
storage unit for the solar powered lighting system.

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