Kawasaki Achieves Lithium Recovery Breakthrough

Kawasaki Plant Systems, Tokyo, Japan, has developed a new lithium recovery process from used batteries. Tests conducted in a 1/25 scale pilot plant, indicated the process can extract 60g of lithium per hour from used lithium-ion batteries. Company spokesmen indicated the process could recover over 90% of the lithium, with a purity of around 99%. This process uses a molten salt bath treatment initially used for processing spent nuclear fuel rods, and should be developed for commercial use by 2007.