Synergistic phosphorus recovery from lithium iron phosphate batteries and sewage sludge incineration ash

The aim of the project is to develop a wet-chemical process that can be used to recycle the critical raw material phosphorus and other valuable materials from lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells. The main product of the planned process is phosphoric acid, which could also be used in battery production due to its purity, in addition to numerous already known applications (metal industry, fertiliser industry). Thermal and mechanical pre-treatment steps, which are currently mainly designed for batteries containing cobalt and nickel, will be adapted for cells containing LFP so that the starting materials in the active mass are tailored to wet-chemical phosphorus recovery. The overarching goal is to minimise the amount of residue after the process and thus meet the EU's demanding recycling quotas. The joint processing of LFP active material and sewage sludge ash is a completely new approach to increase economic efficiency, reduce supply risks, improve the life cycle assessment and recover secondary raw materials for both applications. The recycling process is accompanied by a life cycle assessment to evaluate the ecological impact of the process.