Toxic waste from old batteries can be turned into a powerful tool for cleaning polluted water in a single step.
April 29, 2026
Original Paper
From Spent Batteries to Water Treatment: A One-Pot Process for Selective Lithium Recovery and In-Situ Transformation of NCM523 Cathodes into a High-Performance Photocatalyst
SSRN · 6663724
The Takeaway
Recycling lithium-ion batteries is a difficult and messy process that usually creates more waste. This one-pot method recovers 97% of the lithium while simultaneously transforming the leftover cathode materials. Instead of becoming landfill, the waste becomes a high-performance catalyst that breaks down pollutants in water. This solves two massive environmental problems at the same time using a single chemical process. It turns the battery recycling industry from a cost center into a source of valuable environmental technology.
From the abstract
The sustainable management of spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) requires innovative strategies that transcend conventional recycling. This study presents a dual-functional, one-pot process that integrates the selective recovery of lithium from spent LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 (NCM523) cathodes with the simultaneous in-situ transformation of the residual transition metals into an efficient photocatalyst. The process leverages a sodium persulfate (SPS)-assisted photocatalytic system, where methylene blu