A sustainable cobalt separation with validation by techno-economic analysis and life-cycle assessment

Boyang Zhang; Alexander B. Weberg; Andrew J. Ahn; Marta Guron; Leighton O. Jones; Michael R. Gau; George C. Schatz; Eric J. Schelter

doi:10.1016/j.chempr.2024.10.028

A sustainable cobalt separation with validation by techno-economic analysis and life-cycle assessment

Boyang Zhang, Alexander B. Weberg, Andrew J. Ahn, Marta Guron, Leighton O. Jones, Michael R. Gau, George C. Schatz, Eric J. Schelter^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Chemistry

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Sustainable, cost-effective cobalt/nickel separations chemistry contributes to the realization of economically competitive lithium-ion battery recycling, as well as primary mining of cobalt and nickel. Such improvements can address supply chain challenges for cobalt, a critical element. Herein, we disclose a simple method for separating Co/Ni by second coordination-sphere molecular recognition. Selective cobalt precipitation is achieved using carbonate ions in an ammonia solution due to the outer-sphere, hydrogen bonding interactions between [Co(NH₃)₆]³⁺ and CO₃²⁻, evaluated with density functional theory calculations. We demonstrate this method on mixtures of Co/Ni chlorides comprising a 10-fold excess of Ni and provide comparisons with ore-processing systems. High purities (99.4(3)% Co; 98.2(4)% Ni) and recoveries (77(8)% Co; ∼100% Ni) were observed for both Co- and Ni-enriched products using optimized conditions. This method is potentially economically competitive based on initial techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life-cycle assessment (LCA) that also illustrate advantages in terms of sustainability.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	102361
Journal	Chem
Volume	11
Issue number	5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chempr.2024.10.028
State	Published - May 8 2025

Funding

M.G. thanks Dr. Warren D. Seider at the University of Pennsylvania and Dr. Geetanjali Yadav at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory for their help with the TEA. B.Z. thanks Dr. David Burney at the University of Pennsylvania for his kind assistance with ICP-OES. Theory studies by L.O.J. and G.C.S. were supported by the Center for Advanced Materials for Energy Water Systems (AMEWS), an EFRC center, sponsored by the Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Science , under grant 8J-30009-0007A . A.J.A. thanks the Vagelos Integrated Program in Energy Research (VIPER) at the University of Pennsylvania for support. E.J.S. acknowledges the Center for Sustainable Separations of Metals (CSSM), a National Science Foundation Center for Chemical Innovation under award number CHE-1925708 , for initial support of this work. B.Z. thanks the Vagelos Institute for Energy Science and Technology for graduate fellowship support. Financial support for this publication results from Cottrell SEED Award # CS-SEED-2024-022 to E.J.S. from Research Corporation for Science Advancement. E.J.S. also acknowledges the University of Pennsylvania for support.

Keywords

SDG12: Responsible consumption and production
SDG7: Affordable and clean energy
SDG9: Industry, innovation, and infrastructure
cobalt
critical metals
life-cycle assessment
metal recovery
nickel
selective precipitation
separations
sustainability
techno-economic analysis

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General Chemistry
Biochemistry
Environmental Chemistry
General Chemical Engineering
Biochemistry, medical
Materials Chemistry

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1016/j.chempr.2024.10.028

Cite this

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title = "A sustainable cobalt separation with validation by techno-economic analysis and life-cycle assessment",

abstract = "Sustainable, cost-effective cobalt/nickel separations chemistry contributes to the realization of economically competitive lithium-ion battery recycling, as well as primary mining of cobalt and nickel. Such improvements can address supply chain challenges for cobalt, a critical element. Herein, we disclose a simple method for separating Co/Ni by second coordination-sphere molecular recognition. Selective cobalt precipitation is achieved using carbonate ions in an ammonia solution due to the outer-sphere, hydrogen bonding interactions between [Co(NH3)6]3+ and CO32−, evaluated with density functional theory calculations. We demonstrate this method on mixtures of Co/Ni chlorides comprising a 10-fold excess of Ni and provide comparisons with ore-processing systems. High purities (99.4(3)% Co; 98.2(4)% Ni) and recoveries (77(8)% Co; ∼100% Ni) were observed for both Co- and Ni-enriched products using optimized conditions. This method is potentially economically competitive based on initial techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life-cycle assessment (LCA) that also illustrate advantages in terms of sustainability.",

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author = "Boyang Zhang and Weberg, {Alexander B.} and Ahn, {Andrew J.} and Marta Guron and Jones, {Leighton O.} and Gau, {Michael R.} and Schatz, {George C.} and Schelter, {Eric J.}",

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AU - Gau, Michael R.

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AB - Sustainable, cost-effective cobalt/nickel separations chemistry contributes to the realization of economically competitive lithium-ion battery recycling, as well as primary mining of cobalt and nickel. Such improvements can address supply chain challenges for cobalt, a critical element. Herein, we disclose a simple method for separating Co/Ni by second coordination-sphere molecular recognition. Selective cobalt precipitation is achieved using carbonate ions in an ammonia solution due to the outer-sphere, hydrogen bonding interactions between [Co(NH3)6]3+ and CO32−, evaluated with density functional theory calculations. We demonstrate this method on mixtures of Co/Ni chlorides comprising a 10-fold excess of Ni and provide comparisons with ore-processing systems. High purities (99.4(3)% Co; 98.2(4)% Ni) and recoveries (77(8)% Co; ∼100% Ni) were observed for both Co- and Ni-enriched products using optimized conditions. This method is potentially economically competitive based on initial techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life-cycle assessment (LCA) that also illustrate advantages in terms of sustainability.

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A sustainable cobalt separation with validation by techno-economic analysis and life-cycle assessment

Abstract

Funding

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

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