Adsorption of Li by a lithium ion-sieve using a buffer system and application for the recovery of Li from a spent lithium-ion battery

A lithium ion-sieve manganese oxide (MO) derived from Li-enriched MO was prepared by the glycolic acid complexation method. The Li adsorption performance in a LiCl–NH₃·H₂O–NH₄Cl buffer solution, simulated a spent lithium-ion battery (LIB) processing solution, and actual spent LIB processing solution were studied. An adsorption capacity of 27.4 mg/g was observed in the LiCl–NH₃·H₂O–NH₄Cl buffer solution (Li concentration of 0.2 mol/L, pH?=?9), and the adsorption behavior conformed to the Langmuir adsorption isotherm equation with a linear correlation coefficient (R²) of 0.9996. An adsorption capacity of 19 mg/g was observed in the simulated buffer spent battery solution (Li concentration of 0.15 mol/L, pH?=?7), and an adsorption capacity of 17.8 mg/g was observed in the actual spent battery solution (Li concentration of 0.15 mol/L, pH?=?7). X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, and infrared spectrum results revealed that the structure and morphology of MO are stable before and after adsorption, and the adsorption of MO in all of the abovementioned buffer systems conforms to the Li⁺–H⁺ ion-exchange reaction mechanism. The lithium ion-sieve MO demonstrates promise for the recovery of lithium from spent LIBs.