Electrical stabilisation |
Electrical stabilisation methods remove the
remaining energy that is stored in a battery through placing an external
electrical load on the battery. This process is faster than some of the
other stabilisation techniques and does not consume chemicals, but it is
cumbersome, as each battery needs to be connected to a discharging
device. The electrical stabilisation methods render the battery
materials easiest to recover |
(Wu, et al., 2022), (Sommerville, et al.,
2020) |
Chemical stabilisation |
Chemical stabilisation methods use electrolyte
solutions to short-circuit the battery, allowing the energy that is
stored in the battery to be released. The submersion of the batteries in
the electrolyte solution enables the dissipation of the heat that is
generated through the process. This process does not need individual
cells or batteries to be connected to a circuit and is cheap and simple,
not requiring any expensive equipment with which to undertake the
stabilisation. |
(Hantanasirisakul & Sawangphruk, 2023), Ojanen et. al.
(2018), shaw-Stewart et al. (2019) and Punt et al.
(2022). |
Electrolyte removal |
Removal of the electrolyte from the cells renders
them inactive, as they can no longer support the flow of an electrical
current. This can be performed by extraction with supercritical fluids,
thermal volatilisation or cryogenic freezing |
(Kim, et al., 2021),
(Latini, et al., 2022) |
Mechanical stabilisation (in-process) |
Mechanical stabilisation methods
are also known as in-process stabilisation and consist of shredding or
crushing the batteries while they are contained in an inert atmosphere.
Gases that are often used to create the inert atmosphere around the
batteries include nitrogen, carbon dioxide, or a mixture of carbon
dioxide and argon. |
(Harper, et al., 2019) |