엘엔피리사이클㈜(이하 엘엔피)가 국내 최초로 플라즈마 전기로를 이용하여 폐리튬이온배터리 분쇄물인 블랙매스에 함유된 리튬을 95% 이상 회수하는 건식 제련공정 대량생산기술 개발에 성공했다.
Korea’s first plasma electric furnace… Recovering over 95% of lithium in black mass
Less than half the facility investment compared to wet process and minimize wastewater treatment costs LNP Recycle Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as LNP) has succeeded in developing mass production technology for a dry smelting process that recovers over 95% of lithium contained in black mass, a pulverized waste of lithium-ion batteries, using a plasma electric furnace for the first time in Korea.
LNP announced on the 16th that it has succeeded in developing a low-cost, eco-friendly dry smelting process technology using a plasma electric furnace that can raise the temperature to over 1,700 degrees Celsius for the first time in Korea through technology development over the past three years.
The recovered lithium can be obtained in the form of lithium carbonate by water leaching at a rate of over 93%, which is a groundbreaking recovery rate compared to the existing wet process.
In relation to this, LNP recently requested a test from a nationally accredited certification agency and received a test report showing a lithium recovery rate of 97.2%.
LNP's new lithium-ion battery recycling technology combines mass production technologies for iron and steel and non-ferrous metals refining, and can smelt a variety of raw materials, from black mass to composite raw materials including nickel, and can also recover lithium directly from lithium ore.
This process captures lithium in the form of dust after melting in an electric furnace, and recovers more than 98% of the nickel and cobalt metals contained in the battery in the form of alloy powder. Afterwards, the metal alloy powder can meet the precursor (pCAM) specifications by going through a leaching process. />
LNP's dry refining process omits the pelletizing step to minimize dust generation and instead mixes raw materials, flux, and additives before putting them directly into the electric furnace, reducing pretreatment costs and generating less dust other than lithium compounds.
Additionally, it has the advantage of being environmentally friendly and requiring low energy costs as it uses electricity and graphite, which are clean energy sources, as heat sources.
Accordingly, compared to the wet process of most existing domestic waste lithium-ion battery recycling companies, the scale of facility investment is less than half, and the enormous wastewater treatment costs generated in the wet process can be minimized.
LNP said it is “ready to handle not only scrap from the battery supply chain, but also used lithium-ion batteries, which are expected to grow rapidly worldwide in the coming years.”
In addition, by forming a strategic partnership with MCC Non-ferrous Trading in the US, which supplies various raw materials containing black mass and nickel, the company will be able to secure a stable supply of raw materials, which is a key element of the recycling business. As such, once the mass production facility is completed, it is expected to attract much interest from domestic cathode material and precursor manufacturers who need a stable raw material supply network.
LNP plans to secure investment in the first half of 2024 and install a mass production line capable of processing 35,000 tons of black mass annually in the second half of 2024. It also plans to expand into Europe and the United States from 2025 to secure an annual black mass processing production capacity of 100,000 tons.
LNP currently produces 200 tons of precious metal powder containing gold, palladium, platinum, and rhodium per month, and plans to increase the production capacity to 400 tons per month by 2025.