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The Circular Economy And Energy Efficiency: Boston’s Role

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By Rahil Parag Sheth Rahil Parag Sheth Scilit Preprints.org Google Scholar 1, Narendra Singh Ranawat Narendra Singh Ranawat Scilit Preprints.org Google Scholar 2, Ayon Chakraborty Ayon Chakraborty Scilit Preprints.org Google Scholar 3, Rajesh Prasad Mishra Rajesh Prasad Mishra Scilit. org Google Scholar 1 and Manoj Khandelwal Manoj Khandelwal Scilit Preprints.org Google Scholar 3, *

Received: March 3, 2023 / Revised: March 28, 2023 / Accepted: March 31, 2023 / Published: April 3, 2023

Pdf) Weee Management In A Circular Economy Perspective: An Overview

Since the introduction of lithium-ion batteries (LIB) in the 1970s, their demand has increased exponentially with their applications in electric vehicles, smartphones, and energy storage systems. To deal with the increase in demand and the environmental effects of excessive mining activities and waste production, it has become important to explore ways to manufacture LIB from resources that have already been extracted from nature. It is possible by encouraging the reuse, refurbishing, and recycling of batteries and their constituent components, rethinking the fundamental design of devices that use these batteries, and introducing circular economy models in the battery industry. This paper through a literature review provides the current state of CE adoption in the lithium-ion battery industry. The review suggests that the focus is mainly on recycling at the moment in the battery industry, and they need a better understanding of the process to better adapt to other CE practices such as reuse, remanufacturing, renovation, etc. The paper also provides this step they participate in the recycling process and, through secondary case studies, show how some of the industries are currently approaching battery recycling. Thus, this paper, through review and secondary cases, helps us understand the current state of LIB recycling and CE adoption.

Lithium is a very versatile element with various applications in industry, such as ceramics, batteries, and lubricants [1] (However, lithium-ion batteries are one of its most important applications, due to their use in electric vehicles, smartphones, and others). Considering the policies of various countries in Europe, Asia-Pacific, and other parts of the world favoring the sale of electric vehicles (EVs), it is estimated that there will be an EV sales penetration of 30% for private cars and 70. % for commercial vehicles by 2030, which could take the global demand for lithium-ion batteries to 2035 GWh [2, 3]. This has led to an increase in the requirement for raw materials to manufacture LIBs. However, we might not be able to. to meet the demand for many critical minerals such as cobalt, whose market will grow up to 1.6 times today’s capacity in the next decade [4].

In addition, there is a considerable difference in the production and recycling of LIBs. Globally, less than 5% of LIBs are recycled, while in India alone, more than 50,000 tons of LIB waste are generated annually [5, 6]. Some non-recyclable batteries can be used in second-life applications such as energy storage systems. Still, most unrecycled batteries generally end up in landfills, contaminating the soil and groundwater supplies. This waste pile also indirectly contributes to an increased dependence on virgin raw materials, more harmful to the environment. One of the most effective ways to address mineral shortages and waste generation is to introduce to the LIB market the circular economy (CE) model, which believes in repairing, reusing, and recycling used and damaged products [7]. Here, the concept of a CE would mainly be applied to improve the capacity and volume of recycled batteries. Doing this could help reduce the load on the environment and promote greener production methods.

Generally, the recycling process consists of four steps-pretreatment, pyrometallurgy, mechanical processing, and hydrometallurgy. The recycling process may or may not require all of these steps. The recycling process depends on the type of battery and the technology to be used for recycling.

Cities & Circularity

While battery recycling is not a new concept, an in-depth investigation of this topic remains unknown and under-researched, especially with regard to focus on the adoption of CE and the implementation of its practice [8, 9]. The existing literature does not explore the lithium-ion battery (LIB) recycling process nor the companies that are currently working on the LIBs recycling process [6, 10]. We use secondary case studies to highlight the process of LIB recycling and also explore the possibility of CE adoption in the battery industry. The concept of CE, the recycling process, and its application in industry are explained in the following sections of the paper.

The linear economy model, characterized by the “take, make, and waste” plan [11], dominated the industrial revolution for more than 150 years [12]. In this system, raw materials are collected, converted into products, and then used until they are discarded, due to their design. However, this type of model has been deemed unsustainable due to its impact on the environment and the consumption of natural resources [7, 13]. The search for a better model than the existing linear model of resource consumption has led businesses to find ways to reuse products and reduce waste production.

Unlike the linear economy model, the CE model relies more on renting, sharing, reusing, recycling, repairing, and refurbishing existing products and raw materials as much as possible. According to the Ellen McArthur Foundation, the definition of a circular economy is “looking beyond the modern take-make-dispose industrial extract model; a circular economy intends to redefine growth, focusing on the positive benefits of the whole society. It involves gradually decoupling economic activity from consuming limited resources and waste out of the system. Reinforced by a transition to renewable energy sources, the circular model builds economic, natural and social capital. It is based on three principles, that is, project out waste and pollution; keep products and materials in use; and regenerate natural systems” [14]. Thus, it helps to reduce the production of waste and pollutants and the load on natural resources. The CE model aims to increase the periodic productivity of equipment and other manufactured goods [6 ] and use waste materials and energy as inputs for other processes [15]. Applying a CE model (Figure 1), eliminating waste and pollution, circulating products and materials, and regenerating nature [16] is of utmost importance.

With a growing population, the demand for raw materials has increased manifold. However, the supply of these critical raw materials is limited. Hence, to make the most of the minerals already extracted, the introduction of the CE principle is essential to promote the cradle-to-cradle model instead of the cradle-to-grave model [13]. Applying CE can help in the following ways:

Pdf) Artificial Intelligence In Support Of The Circular Economy: Ethical Considerations And A Path Forward

The most basic definition of a battery is that it is a device that converts the chemical energy stored between its electrodes into electrical energy by a redox reaction (reduction-oxidation) [20]. A battery is a combination of two or more cells connected in series or parallel, which store energy in the form of chemical energy until it is connected to a live circuit. Batteries are classified as:

The lead-acid battery, invented by a French physicist, Gaston Plante, in 1859, was the first type of secondary battery in the world. The battery consists of two electrodes: the negative terminal, made of porous lead, and the positive terminal, made of lead oxide, with dilute sulfuric acid as the electrolyte. During discharge, both electrodes are converted to lead sulfate. Despite having a relatively lower energy density than other types of batteries, they have a high power-to-weight ratio. This benefit, along with their low cost, makes them ideal for use in automobiles such as cars, boats, and scooters and for providing backup power in places such as hospitals and telephone towers [22]. They are also durable and can withstand excessive use. However, lead-acid batteries are not environmentally friendly because lead is a toxic material. Lead recycling is a well-established industry and manages to recycle a large amount of lead, regardless of the fact that more than 40,000.

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