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Using recycled cathodes makes better lithium batteries, study finds

Stylized illustration of a lithium-ion battery.

Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images )

The problem of what to do with old batteries is bound to come up in most any discussion about the pros and cons of electric cars. Most people’s first preference is to reuse them , repurposing the cells for a second life as stationary storage.

But at some point, even those batteries will reach their end of life, plus recycling them makes sense, given concerns over sourcing raw materials for fresh batteries|camera batterycamcorder battery|digital camera battery|batterie|cheap batteries onlinebarcode batteries|extended batterybatteries online|laptop battery replacementcamera battery|batteries for pdababy monitor battery|replacement batteries|notebook batteriesbattery|camcorder batteryakku|pile|cheap batteries|mobile phone battery} to take their place. It’s even possible that using recycled materials might make a better battery, according to a study published in the journal Joule.

Recycling the complicated construction like a battery cell is a hard task compared to domestic recycling programs . But it’s a potentially lucrative one, which means it’s not being ignored either by academia or industry . The study in Joule, led by Professor Yan Wang at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, looks at the performance of lithium-ion cells that will have cathodes made from nickel, manganese, and cobalt recovered from other cells.

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