What is the recycling process for old car batteries?

With the rapid development of the new energy vehicle industry, the harmless and resource-oriented treatment of used car batteries, mainly power lithium batteries, has become a focus of industry attention. Lithium battery dismantling and recycling technology is key to achieving this goal. Its core principle is to recover black powder, copper, aluminum, iron, and plastics through a series of physical methods such as discharge, multi-stage crushing, magnetic separation, drum screening, and gravity separation. Henan DOING's lithium battery recycling equipment can efficiently process used car batteries. The entire old car battery recycling process can be divided into the following six main detailed steps for dismantling and recycling lithium batteries:

Old car battery recycling process

Step 1: Safe Discharge

To eliminate the safety hazards posed by residual electrical energy in old car batteries, the used car batteries are first placed in a salt water solution with a concentration of 8%–15% and soaked for 2–3 days to short-circuit the positive and negative terminals, achieving complete discharge. Different drying methods can be used after discharge depending on the processing scale: small-scale processing (below 500 kg/h) can be naturally air-dried; large-scale production lines (above 1 ton/h) are equipped with drying equipment, eliminating the need for air drying and allowing direct entry into subsequent processes.

Step 2: Shredding and Drying

The discharged used car batteries are conveyed by a belt conveyor to a twin-shaft shredder, where they are shredded into 2-3 cm pieces, and then fed into a drying oven. High-temperature heating completely evaporates the electrolyte in the lithium batteries (small-scale production lines that allow natural drying can skip the drying process and proceed directly to the next stage).

DOING lithium battery recycling double-shaft shredder

Step 3: Primary Crushing and Initial Screening of Black Powder

The dried or naturally air-dried lithium batteries are further pulverized to less than 1 cm using a hammer crusher, and then fed into a drum screen for primary screening via a pneumatic system. The primary drum screen is 6 meters long with a 120-mesh screen, which can screen out approximately 70%-80% of the black powder, completing the first stage of efficient black powder recovery. This is a key phase in the detailed steps for dismantling and recycling lithium batteries.

Step 4: Plastic Separation and Magnetic Iron Removal

The remaining mixture after black powder screening is conveyed by pneumatics to a linear vibrating screen. Under the combined action of vibration and airflow, the lightweight plastic diaphragm is drawn away and collected in a plastic collection box. The remaining mixture enters a magnetic separator, where strong magnetic force effectively separates and recovers the iron.

Lithium battery recycling product recycling system

Step 5: Secondary Crushing and Black Powder Recycling

The remaining black powder and copper-aluminum particles enter a secondary crusher, where they are crushed to below 5 mm and then fed into a secondary drum screen. The secondary drum screen is 4 meters long with a 140-mesh screen, further removing approximately 10% of the black powder, completing the second stage of efficient black powder recycling.

Step 6: Grinding and Purification of Black Powder and Copper-Aluminum Separation

The remaining copper-aluminum mixture enters a grinding mill for fine grinding, followed by classification using a vibrating screen. The vibrating screen consists of two layers of screens dividing the mixture into three layers: the upper layer of coarse particles is returned to the grinding mill for re-grinding; the lower layer contains a small amount of fine black powder, completing the third stage of efficient black powder recycling; and the middle layer contains copper-aluminum mixed particles of suitable size. These mixed particles finally enter an air classifier, where the difference in specific gravity between copper and aluminum is used for efficient separation, yielding high-purity copper and aluminum particles respectively.

Raw materials extracted from used car batteries

DOING's lithium battery dismantling and recycling production line, effectively transforms waste lithium batteries into renewable resources such as black powder, copper, aluminum, iron, and plastics through the close integration of core technologies including discharge, multi-stage crushing, magnetic separation, screening, and gravity separation. This achieves economic value while aligning with the environmental protection concept of green recycling.

DOING's lithium battery dismantling and recycling equipment

Every step of DOING's lithium battery dismantling and recycling process is meticulously designed to maximize efficiency and safety. Every step of With 15 years of experience in exporting lithium battery recycling equipment, Henan DOING has successfully delivered projects worldwide, including in India, Brazil, the Philippines, Ghana, and South Africa. We support our clients with on-site installation, operational training, and ongoing technical assistance. If you have further needs for scrap vehicle battery recycling equipment , please contact DOING,we are always ready to provide you with professional services.If you have further needs for scrap vehicle battery recycling equipment such as lithium battery recycling equipment, please contact DOING,we are always ready to provide you with professional services.