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Process Systems Engineering-Informed Design and Scale-Up of Multi-stage Diafiltration Cascades for Lithium and Cobalt Recovery from Spent Lithium-Ion Batteries
These slides present work jointly completed by Tasks in PrOMMiS. The first half of the presentation motivates the importance of critical materials for national security and how the recovery of critical minerals via membrane separations can be more cost effective than currently used technology. The second half of the presentation presents cost-optimal results for the custom cost model for diafiltration using the superstructure flowsheet developed by CMU. These results highlight how PSE can inform process targets (i.e., product purity targets) and suitable design strategies for scaled-up membrane cascades.
Task 1.6 – Three-Dimensional Printing of All-Solid-State Lithium Batteries: FY25 Q4 Quarterly Report on 3D Printing of Solid State Lithium Batteries
The project has two primary objectives: (1) down select three-dimensional (3D) printing and post-processing approaches for solid-state electrolyte (SSE) / cathode integration, and (2) understand battery failure mechanisms via ex situ and in situ characterization.
Superionic conducting vacancy-rich β-Li 3 N electrolyte for stable cycling of all-solid-state lithium metal batteries
The advancement of all-solid-state lithium metal batteries requires breakthroughs in solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) for the suppression of lithium dendrite growth at high current densities and high capacities (>3 mAh cm -2 ) and innovation of SSEs in terms of crystal structure, ionic conductivity and rigidness. Here we report a superionic conducting, highly lithium-compatible and air-stable vacancy-rich β-Li 3 N SSE. This vacancy-rich β-Li 3 N SSE shows a high ionic conductivity of 2.14 × 10 -3 S cm -1 at 25 °C and surpasses almost all the reported nitride-based SSEs. A Li- and N-vacancy-mediated fast lithium-ion migration mechanism is unravelled regarding vacancy-triggered reduced activation energy and increased mobile lithium-ion population. All-solid-state lithium symmetric cells using vacancy-rich β-Li 3 N achieve breakthroughs in high critical current densities up to 45 mA cm -2 and high capacities up to 7.5 mAh cm -2 , and ultra-stable lithium stripping and plating processes over 2,000 cycles. The high lithium compatibility mechanism of vacancy-rich β-Li 3 N is unveiled as intrinsic stability to lithium metal. In addition, β-Li 3 N possesses excellent air stability through the formation of protection surfaces. All-solid-state lithium metal batteries using the vacancy-rich β-Li 3 N as SSE interlayers and lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) and Ni-rich LiNi 0.83 Co 0.11 Mn 0.06 O 2 (NCM83) cathodes exhibit excellent battery performance. Extremely stable cycling performance is demonstrated with high capacity retentions of 82.05% with 95.2 mAh g -1 over 5,000 cycles at 1.0 C for LCO and 92.5% with 153.6 mAh g -1 over 3,500 cycles at 1.0 C for NCM83. Utilizing the vacancy-rich β-Li 3 N SSE and NCM83 cathodes, the all-solid-state lithium metal batteries successfully accomplished mild rapid charge and discharge rates up to 5.0 C, retaining 60.47% of the capacity. Notably, these batteries exhibited a high areal capacity, registering approximately 5.0 mAh cm -2 for the compact pellet-type cells and around 2.2 mAh cm -2 for the all-solid-state lithium metal pouch cells.
Water acidification aggravates lithium-induced toxicity represented by energy supply, oxidative stress, and cell fate in Daphnia magna neonates
Lithium is extensively utilized in industrial energy production, particularly in lithium-ion batteries, and in pharmaceuticals for the treating clinical mood disorders. Consequently, lithium is frequently detected in various environmental matrices. It has been reported to cause a range of toxic effects on aquatic organisms including oxidative stress, neurological disorders, and reproductive suppression. Water acidification is a global issue with numerous negative impacts on aquatic organisms. It can alter the physio-chemical properties and bioavailability of metal ions. The acidic leaching process during lithium battery treatment and global water acidification both suggest that lithium contamination often occurs in acidic environments. In the present study, Daphnia magna neonates were exposed to four treatments (control, lithium alone, low pH, and combined) to investigate whether an acidic environment exacerbates the toxic effects of lithium on aquatic organisms and to explore potential toxic action mechanisms. The results indicated that low pH posed a significant threat to the growth and reproduction of D. magna. When exposed to both lithium and low pH, there was increased lithium accumulation and an energy trade-off response, leading to increased energy allocation to reproduction and reduced energy for growth. Lithium exposure stimulated D. magna activity, while low pH inhibited it, suggesting that an imbalance in energy consumption and supply. Combined exposure to lithium and low pH resulted in severe oxidative stress due to mitochondrial dysfunction, under-utilization of energy substances, and increased ionic homeostasis disturbances. Consequently, the exposed organism altered apoptosis and autophagy processes to maintain homeostasis. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that lithium and water acidification posed a population-level threat to D. magna, and their combined exposure significantly largely exacerbated the toxic effects.
Final Design for Thermal/Epithermal eXperiments (TEX) with Lithium Absorbers to Provide Validation Benchmarks for Y-12 Electrorefining Facility
One of the main goals of the Thermal/Epithermal eXperiments (TEX) project is to use existing Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP) assets to create critical experiment plutonium and uranium test beds for materials important to criticality safety that have insufficient benchmark evaluations. The plutonium test bed experiments were completed in 2018 and are published in the 2020 edition of the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP) Handbook. The uranium test bed assemblies were completed in 2023 and accepted in the 2024 edition of the ICSBEP Handbook. The Nuclear Criticality Safety (NCS) group at Y-12 National Security Complex has identified programmatic need for validation cases for uranium electrorefining operations at Y-12. The electrorefining operation credits lithium enriched in 6 Li in addition to 35 Cl as absorbers in the design criticality safety evaluation for precluding criticality under upset conditions in the large and geometrically unfavorable electro-refiner. There is, however, inadequate experimental validation for the 6 Li absorbers. As an extension of the TEX uranium test bed, TEX-Cl critical experiments were performed with sodium chloride salt to address the 35 Cl thermal absorption as well as other validation needs at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). These experiments were completed in 2024 and accepted into the 2025 ICSBEP Handbook. To continue the methodology used in TEX-Cl, TEX-Li aims to accomplish the same. The overall design of both experiments was to use commercially available, high purity, salts with polyethylene moderator and HEU plates to configure a critical assembly. Three experiments are planned for TEX-Li using encapsulated lithium carbonate (Li 2 CO 3 ), with natural 6 Li abundance. For all experiments, the highly enriched uranium (HEU) Jemima plates will be used as fissile material. Multiple layers will be stacked together with encapsulated Li 2 CO 3 alternated with polyethylene in standard configurations. Standard stacking was found to be optimal in matching the different sensitivity profiles provided by the Y-12 models. Three configurations are proposed with varying polyethylene moderation and a constant 1/4” absorber thickness. The first uses 11 layers of 5/4” polyethylene, the second uses 9 layers of 3/4” polyethylene, and the third uses 10 layers of 1/2” polyethylene. Calculations showed that some alternative forms of lithium-based materials provided slightly less-optimal sensitivity profiles when compared to lithium carbonate but come with other drawbacks. These alternatives included lithium aluminate (LiAlO 2 ), Aluminum-2050 alloy, Aluminum-8090, Aluminum-2095, lithium hydride (LiH), and lithium fluoride (LiF). Lithium aluminate and aluminum-2050 provided comparable sensitivity profiles when compared to lithium carbonate and can be used instead if lithium carbonate cannot be readily procured. After a broad material study, lithium carbonate outperformed any alternative material with a balance in affordability and workability. The assessment of experimental uncertainties of the non-absorber and absorber components was predicted to be 0.00089 and 0.00093 Δk eff , respectively. The largest uncertainties may be reduced with precision dimensional inspection of the components. Many of the parts and equipment for IER 575 have already been fabricated or procured for previous projects and therefore do not contribute significantly to the overall cost of this experiment. This includes the Jemima plates and Comet critical assembly machine, which are existing NCSP assets, as well as the aluminum platen and polyethylene reflector rings, which were fabricated and authorized for the TEX experiment involving HEU with polyethylene. Lithium carbonate containers will be procured by LANL and will be filled by LLNL. The total material costs for TEX-Li experiments are estimated to be on the order of $\$$47,400. Precision inspection, including dimensional, mass, density, and impurity, is recommended for all components for an estimated cost of $\$$12,000.
Investigation of Drift Effects in UEDGE Simulations of NSTX-U Edge Plasma With Lithium Divertors
Lithium is a low-Z material, and lithium-based plasma-facing components (PFCs) are planned for the National Spherical Torus Experiment Upgrade (NSTX-U) to explore potential benefits for divertor power exhaust and core plasma management. NSTX-U is a medium-sized spherical tokamak with up to 12 MW of auxiliary heating, capable of generating reactor-relevant plasma conditions. This work presents boundary plasma simulations for NSTX-U with lithium PFCs using the UEDGE code, incorporating full magnetic and 𝐄 ×𝐁 drift physics. The simulations show that drifts strongly influence heat and particle transport: they enhance convective transport, broaden the scrape-off layer heat-flux width 𝜆 𝑞 , and reduce the anomalous heat diffusivity 𝜒 required to reproduce predicted SOL heat-flux width. 𝐄 ×𝐁 drifts provide poloidal transport, while ∇𝐵 (which includes both gradB and curvature) drifts provide radial heat and particle transport. Lithium transport is also affected by drifts, with lithium ions migrating from the outer divertor to the inner divertor through the private flux region (PFR) following the 𝐄 ×𝐁 drifts flow, lowering upstream impurity lithium densities. UEDGE is self-consistently coupled with the Wall-Li model to study plasma lithium PFC interactions depending on the local lithium sourcing based on local plasma conditions and lithium surface temperature. In these simulations, lithium evaporation shows a vapor-shielding effect that reduces divertor heat flux and increases radiative losses once surface temperatures exceed 450°C. This research work provides a first step toward self-consistent modeling of lithium PFCs in NSTX-U, demonstrating the impact of drift-driven plasma transport in SOL and divertor regions.
Magnetic Nanoparticle Extraction of Lithium from Produced Waters - CRADA 483 (Final Report)
The demand for lithium in the energy production industry is expected to increase sharply, development of simple and cost-effective techniques for lithium production and recovery from various lithium sources is essential. In this project, core/shell magnetic nanoparticles were successfully designed to selectively extract lithium from aqueous lithium sources as an extension of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s magnetic nanofluid extraction technology. The core/shell magnetic nanoparticles are composed of manganese oxide-based lithium ion sieve shells, which allow selective lithium uptake from brines with multiple coexisting ions, over iron oxide cores, which can respond to external magnetic fields for effective recovery and reuse of adsorbents from a liquid. The synthesized lithium ion-sieves and core/shell magnetic nanoparticles were characterized using several techniques to reveal their crystallinity and morphology. The lithium uptake properties of the lithium ion-sieves and core/shell magnetic nanoparticles were evaluated in terms of lithium adsorption capacity, removal percentage, selectivity, and cycling performance in simulated and natural brines. Magnetic properties of the core/shell magnetic nanoparticles were tested by measuring magnetic saturation, and magnetic response of colloidal solutions containing the core/shell magnetic nanoparticles was tested with permanent magnets.
Self-consistent modeling of tokamak edge plasma transport with lithium sources
Magnetic confinement fusion devices require effective heat and particle exhaust solutions on the divertor plates to operate sustainably, especially under reactor-relevant conditions. Liquid lithium divertors have been proposed to address two major challenges: control of excessive heat flux to plasma-facing components through vapor shielding and minimization of core plasma contamination from impurities. The National Spherical Torus Experiment-Upgrade (NSTX-U) will explore lithium as a divertor material due to its potential to meet both objectives. We present a self-consistent coupling framework between the plasma boundary transport code UEDGE and the lithium wall transport code Wall–Li to evaluate the feasibility and operational limits of lithium-based divertors. The model aims to optimize lithium sourcing levels to prevent core plasma contamination via fuel dilution while ensuring divertor protection through vapor shielding. This integrated framework, applicable to any tokamak with lithium sources, dynamically adjusts lithium sourcing based on local plasma conditions and surface temperature. The coupled model is tested using NSTX-like geometry and plasma conditions to assess its performance and reliability. Wall–Li calculates lithium fluxes from plasma-facing components, incorporating physical sputtering, thermally enhanced sputtering, and evaporation driven by surface temperature and ion flux. These fluxes are reintroduced into UEDGE as neutral lithium atoms, enabling simulation of their transport and distribution within the plasma. UEDGE computes plasma and neutral transport, surface heat flux, and iteratively feeds this information back to Wall–Li. A small time step is employed to ensure numerical stability and convergence, enabling accurate simulations over typical tokamak discharge durations. This integrated modeling approach provides a robust tool for identifying operational regimes that balance effective lithium sourcing with minimal core plasma contamination, offering critical insights for optimizing lithium-based divertor systems in current and future fusion devices.
Composite Lithium Metal Structure to Mitigate Pulverization and Enable Long‐Life Batteries
In lithium metal batteries, non‐uniform stripping of lithium results in pit formation, which promotes subsequent non‐uniform, dendritic deposition. This viscous cycle leads to pulverization of lithium which promotes cell shorting or capacity degradation, symptoms further exaggerated by high electrode areal loading and lean electrolytes. Here, to address this challenge, a composite lithium metal anode is engineered that contains uniformly distributed, nanometer‐sized carbon particles. This composite lithium is shown to strip more uniformly since the growth of non‐uniform pits is intercepted by the carbon particles. This mechanism is corroborated by a continuum electrochemical model. Subsequent lithium deposition on carbon particles is also found to be more uniform than on the surface with irregular pits. Notably, the pulverization rate of composite lithium is 26 times slower than that of commercial lithium. Moreover, in a Li‐S battery with sulfurized polyacrylonitrile cathode, the use of the composite anode extends the cycle life by three times when the areal capacity is 8 mAh cm −2 . The approach of using an engineered lithium composite structure to address challenges during both stripping and plating can inform future designs of lithium metal anodes for high areal capacity operations.
Extraction of lithium from battery recycling wastewater using synergistic D2EHPA and TBP
The recycling of spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) poses significant challenges, including the generation of large volumes of chemically complex wastewater. The composition of this wastewater is influenced by both the intrinsic chemistry of the batteries and the specific recycling processes employed. Notably, this wastewater contains economically valuable components, such as lithium, which can be recovered. Here, in this study, a solvent extraction (SX) process was investigated as a method to recover lithium from battery recycling wastewater, especially from anode-washing stage. Initially, various commercial extractants were evaluated, including di(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid (D2EHPA), mono-2-ethylhexyl (2-ethylhexyl)phosphonate (PC88A), bis(2,4,4-trimethylpentyl)phosphinic acid (Cyanex 272), 2-hydroxy-5-nonylacetophenone oxime (LIX 84-I), tri-butyl phosphate (TBP), and their combinations. Among these, D2EHPA + TBP demonstrated a synergism to advance and maximize the lithium extraction. Subsequently, the effects of key parameters, including D2EHPA concentration, TBP concentration, contact time, initial pH, and aqueous-to-organic (A/O) phase ratio, were systematically investigated and optimized. A two-stage SX approach was employed to enhance lithium recovery. Under the optimized conditions of 30.0 vol% D2EHPA, 10.0 vol% TBP, 10 min of contact time, and a 1:1 A/O phase ratio, a lithium extraction efficiency of more than 88% in a two-stage solvent extraction was achieved. Lithium was subsequently stripped from the loaded organic solution using sulfuric acid (H 2 SO 4 ). Using 2.0 M H 2 SO 4 , lithium stripping was achieved after two counter-current stripping stages at an organic-to-aqueous (O/A) phase ratio of 6:1. This stripping process enriched the lithium concentration by a factor of four compared to the original lithium concentration in the anode-washing wastewater. The recyclability of the synergistic D2EHPA + TBP system was also evaluated over four extraction-stripping cycles. The results demonstrated that the system maintained high extraction and stripping efficiencies.
Strain-associated nanoscale fluctuating lithium transport within single-crystalline LiNi 1/3 Mn 1/3 Co 1/3 O 2 cathode particles
Solid-state lithium diffusion dynamics are critical for the rate capability and longevity of Li-ion batteries. Conventionally, nanoscale lithium diffusion within individual battery particles has been simplified as being primarily driven by concentration gradients, despite the associated processes inducing local lattice expansion, contraction, and strain fields. Using operando scanning transmission soft X-ray microscopy with high spatial resolution and chemical sensitivity to track nanoscale intraparticle lithium transport, and post-cycling Bragg coherent diffraction X-ray imaging to directly reveal three-dimensional intraparticle strain fields, we uncover strain-associated lithium transport dynamics within single-crystalline LiNi 1/3 Mn 1/3 Co 1/3 O 2 (scNMC) particles during cycling. Contrary to the expected thermodynamic solid-solution behavior of scNMC, our observations reveal near-uniform but fluctuating regions of lithium-dense and lithium-dilute areas during cycling. These fluctuations suggest that nanoscale lithium diffusion can proceed counter to concentration gradients. Additionally, we demonstrate that an increased presence of lithium-dilute regions near the surface enhances lithium surface insertion kinetics, emphasizing the importance of controlling surface lithium distribution to improve rate performance. Our study provides insights into nanoscale solid-state ion transport, with potential applications in batteries, solid-state fuel cells, and memristors.
Visualizing diverse lithium growth and stripping behaviors in anode-free solid-state batteries with operando X-ray tomography
Anode-free solid-state batteries (SSBs), which eliminate the need for lithium metal use during cell assembly, have the potential to enable high energy densities and simplified manufacturing. However, the factors that control lithium growth/stripping at the anode current collector are not well understood. Here, we use operando X-ray microcomputed tomography to comprehensively image and quantify lithium deposition and stripping under various conditions in three different Li|Li 6 PS 5 Cl|current collector cells, revealing diverse behavior that depends on interface morphology, cell resistance, and solid-state electrolyte (SSE) microstructure. A cell with high resistance exhibits extensive lithium filament growth across the entire current collector interface, with filaments that grow around pre-existing pores in the SSE rather than lithium filling these pores. Lithium filament formation is partially reversible, with the cracks shrinking as lithium metal is stripped. Uniform lithium deposition is achievable at low current densities in low-resistance cells, whereas higher current densities in these cells cause an increase in interfacial roughness, which is correlated with subsequent filamentary growth at the edges of the cell. These results provide insight into filamentary vs. planar lithium growth and highlight that the evolution of lithium is sensitively dependent on SSE microstructure and electrochemical processes.
Unveiling the Role of Lithium Iodide in Stabilizing Solid Interfaces in All-Solid-State Li Metal Batteries
A critical challenge in all-solid-state lithium metal batteries (ASSLMBs) is achieving a stable interface between the lithium metal anode and the solid electrolyte. Leveraging its success in Li/I 2 batteries, lithium iodide has garnered significant attentions for its potential to enhance interfacial stability and overall cell performance in ASSLMBs. Here, we elucidate the role of lithium iodide in stabilizing the solid interface in all-solid-state Li metal batteries with a Li argyrodite electrolyte, particularly focusing on its influence on lithium deposition behavior and interfacial evolution. Through in situ optical imaging, we demonstrate more uniform lithium deposition on an iodide-contained argyrodite electrolyte compared to a chloride-based counterpart. Complementary density functional theory calculations attribute improved lithium plating behavior to the enhanced lithiophilicity and better ionic conductivity of lithium iodide at the solid interface, effectively reducing localized current density. In conclusion, these findings provide useful insights into the mechanisms through which lithium iodide enhances the interfacial stability in ASSLMBs.
Optimization of lithium vapor box divertor evaporator location on NSTX-U using SOLPS-ITER
Commercial fusion reactors will be faced with extremely high divertor target heat fluxes that will require mitigation. Simulations of detachment in an NSTX-U scenario projected to have 92 MW/m 2 unmitigated peak target heat flux are presented, which reaches sub-10 MW/m 2 target heat flux using a highly dissipating lithium vapor box divertor design. The lithium vapor box is a detached divertor design which employs lithium vapor evaporation and condensation to contain lithium below the X-point. Previous SOLPS modeling has indicated a lithium vapor box can reduce the heat flux down to 10 MW/m 2 via simultaneous evaporation from the Private Flux Region (PFR) and the Common Flux Region (CFR) sides of the vapor box. It is found here that PFR evaporation has improved access to the separatrix leading to significantly more efficient power dissipation than CFR evaporation. Simulations of target evaporation with an evaporation distribution that is self-consistent with the temperature of a Capillary Porous System with Fast flowing liquid lithium (CPSF) could reach n Li / n e ~ 0.025-0.030 at the Last Closed Flux Surface (LCFS) depending on the liquid metal flow speeds and lithium sputtering yield, while PFR-side evaporation can reach acceptable heat fluxes with n Li / n e ~ 0.038 at the LCFS. However, PFR evaporator performance can be improved if the target is allowed to be hot enough such that it reflects lithium, reaching n Li / n e ~ 0.028 and reducing required lithium evaporation. Ultimately PFR evaporation and target evaporation are found to have similar ability to produce acceptable heat flux solutions with minimal upstream concentration.
Synthesis, Characterization, and Testing of High-Lithium-Density Composite Breeders
Solid tritium breeder materials must first and foremost have sufficiently high concentrations of lithium to enable a plant-scale tritium breeding ratio greater than 1:1. However, in addition to lithium content, such breeder materials must also meet other performance metrics including high tritium release rates, thermal conductivities, and irradiation damage tolerance. Perhaps most importantly, tritium breeders must maintain their mechanical integrity during reactor operation so as to avoid degradation which can jeopardize the functionality of the tritium breeder blanket module, which in most designs takes the form of a pebble bed geometry. Unfortunately, the mechanical robustness of most lithium-bearing ceramics under investigation for fusion applications is often inversely related to the lithium atom density. For example, a material such as lithium oxide (Li2O), which has one of the highest lithium atom densities, has a much lower mechanical splitting strength than lithium metatitanate (Li2TiO3), though Li2TiO3 has less than half the lithium atom density of Li2O. This work seeks to provide an alternative to monolithic ceramic tritium breeders, in the form of metal-reinforced composite tritium breeders. Specifically, composite tritium breeders have been synthesized combining Li2O with various ferrous metal reinforcements via electric field assisted sintering (EFAS), also known as spark plasma sintering (SPS). As the metal reinforcement content is increased, metallic networks are observed, via electron microscopy and X-ray computed tomography, to form throughout the composite material. Through destructive mechanical testing, even dilute metal reinforcement loading enables drastic mechanical strength improvements over pure Li2O while higher loadings give rise to quasi-ductile behavior and higher ultimate strengths than Li2TiO3 – while still maintaining a higher density of lithium atoms than Li2TiO3 and many other breeder candidates. In addition to microstructural characterization and mechanical testing, thermal property measurements and hydrogen permeability testing are underway to further assess the suitability of such composites for fusion reactor applications.
Membranes for Lithium Recovery From Conventional and Unconventional Sources
Lithium has been deemed a critical mineral of national importance that finds uses in a wide range of applications, and its demand has been rising significantly in recent years. The urgency of meeting this demand requires lithium extraction from various aqueous sources such as continental brines, geothermal brines, seawater, produced water, and battery waste. While direct lithium extraction (DLE) technologies such as adsorption, ion exchange, and solvent extraction have emerged as possible solutions, membrane technologies are also being investigated for various sources and at different stages of the recovery process. Here, we analyze the application of membranes for pretreatment of lithium source waters, bring management, lithium/magnesium separation, lithium/sodium separation, and lithium hydroxide conversion, and evaluate performance metrics for critical lithium separations from the literature. We explore the potential of membranes at every stage of the recovery process and describe their current status and future prospects. We describe hypothetical process trains with integrated membrane technologies for each source type and address their feasibility and challenges. The potential energy and water impacts of membrane-integrated and conventional DLE processes are also critically considered alongside performance and selectivity metrics, and this is illustrated using examples and calculated from published technical reports. This paper thus provides a comprehensive overview of the application of membranes along every stage of the lithium recovery process, emphasizing the versatility and potential of membrane technologies for critical mineral recovery.