The growing demand for Li-ion batteries (LIBs), coupled with the scarcity of raw material resources, poses significant techno-economic and ecological challenges. Additionally, the increasing amount of spent LIB waste endangers the ecosystem. Recycling these batteries has been proven to be environmentally beneficial and economically sustainable compared to mining and extraction. This study analyzed the direct and background environmental footprints of recycling a mixed blend of LIBs and recovering lithium (Li) using a hybrid approach. This process combined two segments: pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy. Pyrometallurgy included the incineration process to liberate constituents, the smelting section to form Li-bearing slag, and the chlorination roasting process for chemically assisted transformation. This was followed by the hydrometallurgy segment, where Li was recovered. A specialized environmental life cycle assessment method was applied to evaluate the environmental burden of each section. The study showed that, due to the energy-intensive nature of the process and electricity being the sole source of energy, its background emissions impacts played a noticeable role, contributing to 97 % of the ozone depletion potential (ODP) and 41 % of the total CO2 emissions. A sensitivity analysis was conducted using a global sensitivity approach with Latin hypercube sampling showed high sensitivity of global warming potential (GWP) and smog formation categories to N2O and NO, respectively. Additionally, with the help of four different designed scenarios, uncertainty in various environmental categories was highlighted, demonstrating that a 20 % substitution of the current electricity source with renewable ones significantly reduced the environmental impacts of the process.

中文翻译：

---

通过火法/湿法冶金混合方法评估废旧锂离子电池回收的环境足迹

对锂离子电池 （LIB） 的需求不断增长，加上原材料资源的稀缺，构成了重大的技术、经济和生态挑战。此外，越来越多的废锂离子电池废料也危及生态系统。与采矿和开采相比，回收这些电池已被证明对环境有益且经济可持续。本研究分析了使用混合方法回收 LIB 混合混合物和回收锂 （Li） 的直接和背景环境足迹。该工艺结合了两个部分：火法冶金和湿法冶金。火法冶金包括释放成分的焚烧过程、形成含锂炉渣的冶炼段以及用于化学辅助转化的氯化焙烧过程。紧随其后的是湿法冶金部分，在那里发现了 Li。采用专门的环境生命周期评估方法来评估每个部分的环境负担。研究表明，由于该过程的能源密集型性质且电力是唯一的能源，其背景排放影响发挥了显着作用，导致了 97% 的臭氧消耗潜能值 （ODP） 和 41% 的 CO2 总排放量。使用拉丁超立方采样的全球敏感性方法进行敏感性分析，显示全球变暖潜能值 （GWP） 和烟雾形成类别分别对 N2O 和 NO 高度敏感。此外，在四种不同设计方案的帮助下，各种环境类别的不确定性被强调，表明用可再生能源替代当前电力 20% 可显着减少该过程对环境的影响。