Cyclic redox strategy for sustainable recovery of lithium ions from spent lithium iron phosphate batteries

The growth of spent lithium-ion batteries requires a green recycling method. This paper presents an innovative hydrometallurgical approach in light of redox flow batteries, which employed Fe³⁺/Fe²⁺ as regenerative redox mediator to selectively extract Li⁺ from LiFePO₄. In contrast to the conventional method in which the oxidizer is disposable, the present scheme allows for the recycling of the oxidizer, which demonstrates the advantages of environmentally friendly, low cost and higher extraction rate, offering a novel approach to recycling spent batteries.