A circular economy approach to lithium iron phosphate/carbon cathode production from iron scrap: Effect of carbon coating strategy on physicochemical and electrochemical characteristics
Randomized trial shows enhanced electrochemical performance in lithium iron phosphate cathodes, indicating potential for urban waste recycling.
Key Points
This work aims to explore a sustainable method for synthesizing lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathodes from iron scrap using various carbon coating strategies.
Developed a scrap-to-cathode synthesis route utilizing sulfuric acid leaching and oxalate precipitation of iron scrap.
Synthesized four LFP/C samples varying carbon sources and sintering durations under a nitrogen atmosphere.
Conducted structural analysis using XRD and electrochemical performance tests on the produced LFP samples.
LFP-C with a 50:50 mixture of activated carbon and stearic acid showed a specific discharge capacity of 121.2 mAh g −1 and a Coulombic efficiency of 79.51%.
Techno-economic analysis suggests an economic potential of USD 9.25 per kg of LFP with CO 2 emissions of 6.5–7.0 kg per kg of LFP.
Single-phase olivine LFP was confirmed for mixed-carbon samples while single-source samples exhibited secondary phases.