Recommended Practices for the Electrochemical Recovery of Cobalt from Lithium Cobalt Oxide: A Case Study of the Choline Chloride:Ethylene Glycol Deep Eutectic Solvent

We recommend best practices for the recovery of cobalt from LiCoO2 (LCO) lithium-ion battery (LIB) cathodes by (i) leaching using green deep eutectic solvents (DES) and (ii) subsequent electrodeposition, through a case study of the choline chloride (ChCl):ethylene glycol (EG) DES. DES physical properties (conductivity, viscosity, and surface tension) were tailored by varying the composition between mole ratios of 1:2 and 1:5 (ChCl:EG). Examined along with leaching process parameters (temperature, duration), increasing the fraction of hydrogen bond donors (HBDs) decreased DES surface tension and enhanced leaching. Complete Co recovery was achieved using 1:5 ChCl:EG DES at 160oC and 48 hours. Leaching temperatures >160oC are discouraged due to DES thermal degradation. The electrodeposition process was optimized for selective Co recovery with high faradaic efficiency. The leaching ability of the DES was antithetical to the stability of electrodeposition cell components and required operational parameter adjustment to minimize degradation. The optimized system (copper cathode and stainless-steel anode) employing 1:5 DES leachate exhibited a faradaic efficiency of ~80 %, specific Co recovery of ~0.8 mg hr-1 cm-1 at 50 oC and evidence of uniform deposition. DES surface tension is a key descriptor of metal recovery, and guidelines are presented to maximize selective Co recovery.