Environmental Impact Assessment in the Entire Life Cycle of Lithium-Ion Batteries

Abstract

The growing demand for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) in smartphones, electric vehicles (EVs), and other energy storage devices should be correlated with their environmental impacts from production to usage and recycling. As the use of LIBs grows, so does the number of waste LIBs, demanding a recycling procedure as a sustainable resource and safer for the environment. This review paper analyses and categorizes the environmental impacts of LIBs from mining their constituents, their usage and applications, illegal disposal, and recycling. Compared to recycling, reusing recovered materials for battery manufacturing would lessen the environmental footprints and reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and energy consumption. Thus, to prevent pollution and safeguard the environment, it is necessary to consider recycling spent LIBs and improving production and disposal methods. The present study offers a comprehensive overview of the environmental impacts of batteries from their production to use and recycling and the way forward to its importance in metal replenishment. The life cycle assessment (LCA) analysis is discussed to assess the bottlenecks in the entire cycle from cradle to grave and back to recycling (cradle).