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Abstract:
The rapidly growing production and usage of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) dramatically raises the number of harmful wastes. Consequently, the LIBs waste management processes, taking into account reliability, efficiency, and sustainability criteria, became a hot issue in the context of environmental protection as well as the scarcity of metal resources. In this paper, we propose for the first time a functional material—a magnetorheological fluid (MRF) from the LIBs-based liquid waste containing heavy metal ions. At first, the spent battery waste powder was treated with acid-leaching, where the post-treatment acid-leaching solution (ALS) contained heavy metal ions including cobalt. Then, ALS was used during wet co-precipitation to obtain cobalt-doped superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) and as an effect, the harmful liquid waste was purified from cobalt. The obtained nanoparticles were characterized with SEM, TEM, XPS, and magnetometry. Subsequently, superparamagnetic nanoparticles sized 15 nm average in diameter and magnetization saturation of about 91 emu g−1 doped with Co were used to prepare the MRF that increases the viscosity by about 300% in the presence of the 100 mT magnetic fields. We propose a facile and cost-effective way to utilize harmful ALS waste and use them in the preparation of superparamagnetic particles to be used in the magnetorheological fluid. This work describes for the first time the second life of the battery waste in the MRF and a facile way to remove the harmful ingredients from the solutions obtained after the acid leaching of LIBs as an effective end-of-life option for hydrometallurgical waste utilization.

Keywords:
environment protection SPION, battery waste, toxic waste management, direct recycling, sustainability, circular economy, critical raw materials

Keywords:
Spent lithium-ion batteries, LiBs, Acid leaching, SPION, Magnetic nanomaterials, Metals recovery, Superparamagnetic, Waste management, Functional materials

Abstract:
With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the waste management sector had to face new challenges, e.g., changes in the size and composition of the waste stream, or the presence of potentially infectious waste. This article is based on a case study in Poland. The data analysis showed that the increase in municipal waste mass during the pandemic did not differ from statistics observed in previous years and ranged from 0.3 to 0.5 million tons per year. Lifestyle changes caused a decrease in the amount of waste generated outside households. Social migrations contributed to rapid changes in the mass of waste generated in selected agglomerations by up to 80 kg/capita. In the waste stream,significant amounts of specific groups of waste related to the pandemic (“corona waste”) as well as packaging and food waste were noted. Despite the pandemic, in 2020, Poland recorded an increase in selective waste collection by 6.7 percentage points (pp.) Data on municipal waste management showed an increase in the mass of waste sent for recycling by 0.7 million tons, while the mass of landfilled waste decreased by 0.3 million tons. The observed positive changes in waste management allow the implementation of sustainable development assumptions to a greater extent.

Keywords:
municipal waste, waste management, COVID-19 pandemic, circular economy

Abstract:
Lithium-ion battery (LiB) waste powder is a valuable source of various materials, including carbon and metals. Although this material exhibits electrical conductivity, nanostructured morphology, and may contain metal oxides, it has not been used as an electrocatalyst. Here, we demonstrated the application of LiB waste powder as a catalyst for electrochemical H2O2 generation. The powder was both immobilized on a glassy carbon (GC) electrode and assembled at a liquid–liquid interface formed by decamethylferrocene (DMFc) solution in trifluorotoluene and aqueous perchloric acid in the presence of oxygen. The electrochemistry was studied by cyclic voltammetry and also with a rotating disk electrode (RDE), and a 2-electron ORR pathway was confirmed. H2O2 generation at the liquid–liquid interface and oxidation of DMFc were detected by colorimetry, UV–vis spectroscopy and scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM). The use of LiB waste powder reduces the ORR onset potential by ca. 0.3 V compared to an unmodified GC. When assembled at a liquid–liquid interface the waste powder increases the efficiency of H2O2 generation by ca. 20 times.

Keywords:
hydrogen peroxide, lithium-ion battery waste, oxygen reduction, scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM), liquid–liquid interface

Abstract:
Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) waste is classified as a dangerous one. Fortunately, LIBs can be recycled and are already a valuable source of metals. This work is focused on the properties of the spent LIBs powder, which is a postproduct of the proposed organic leaching process and is presented as a source of nanocarbons with a unique structure. Furthermore, attention is paid to revealing the properties of the carbon component that can find a second life in other applications like photocatalysis or sorbents. Raman spectroscopy is used for the characterization of graphitic carbon. Scanning electron microscopy images are numerically quantitatively analyzed to provide additional parameters (for instance, the total length of edges) about the structure of materials, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) further check their composition.

Abstract:
Global pollution of the environment is one of the most challenging environmental prob- lems. Electronic-based population and anthropogenic activity are the main reasons for dramatically increasing the scale of waste generation, particularly battery waste. Improper battery waste disposal causes harmful environmental effects. Due to the release of heavy metals, battery waste affects ecosystems and health. We are faced with the challenge of effective battery waste management, especially recycling, to prevent the depletion of natural resources and maintain ecological balance. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is practically present in all areas of our lives. It enables the reduction of the costs associated with various types of research, increases automation, and accelerates productivity. This paper reviews the representative research progress of effective Artificial Intelligence-based battery waste management in the context of sustainable development, in particular, the analysis of current trends, algorithm accuracy, and data availability. Finally, the future lines of research and development directions of human-oriented Artificial Intelligence applications both in the battery production process and in battery waste management are discussed.

Keywords:
battery waste, waste management, artificial intelligence, machine learning, genetic programming, end-of-life

Abstract:
Reinforced concrete based on ordinary Portland cement (OPC) is one of the most commonly used materials in modern buildings. Due to the global growth of the building industry, concrete components have been partially or completely replaced with waste materials that can be used as binders or aggregates. Besides the ecological aspects, modern architecture widely needs materials to make the concrete durable, resisting large loads and various detrimental forces in the environment. This opens the possibilities of managing waste materials and applying them in practice. This paper presents a concise review of the green solutions for ecofriendly materials in the building industry that deal with the practical application of materials commonly treated as waste. The main emphasis was placed on their influence on the properties of the building material, optimal composition of mixtures, and discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of each of the “green” additives. It turned out that some solutions are far from being ecofriendly materials, as they leech and release numerous harmful chemicals into the environment during their presence in concrete. Finally, the paper suggests a research direction for the development of an ecofriendly structural material for a sustainable future.

Keywords:
green concrete; waste management; waste as a cement filler; secondary raw materials; alternative cements

Abstract:
Waste batteries and accumulators are a group of waste, the amount of which is constantly
increasing every year. A particular weight gain of this type of waste is observed for lithium-ion
batteries used in various electronic devices and modern passenger vehicles. Due to the complex
chemical composition and the content of different valuable metals, used Li-ion batteries should be
subjected to appropriate recycling methods, the purpose of which is to separate the individual raw
materials included in the battery. Regarding the demand for innovative technologies for processing
spent Li-ion batteries, a concept of laboratory experiments was developed in the field of hydrometal-lurgical recovery of Li and Co contained in the battery powder obtained from this type of waste. As a result, it was shown that it is possible to effectively recover the tested metals with an adequately designed leaching process.

Keywords:
Li-ion batteries, leaching, recovery of metals, waste management, environmental engineering

Keywords:
acid leaching,battery recycling,Li-ion batteries,metal recovery,raw material sustainable use