User:Brettellier/sandbox

You will be compiling your bibliography and creating an outline of the changes you will make in this sandbox.

[New] References

 * Neumann, J., Petranikova, M., Meeus, M., Gamarra, J. D., Younesi, R., Winter, M., & Nowak, S. (2022). Recycling of Lithium‐Ion Batteries—Current State of the Art, Circular Economy, and Next Generation Recycling. Advanced Energy Materials, 12(17), 2102917-n/a. https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202102917
 * Meshram, P., Mishra, A., Abhilash, & Sahu, R. (2020). Environmental impact of spent lithium ion batteries and green recycling perspectives by organic acids – A review. Chemosphere (Oxford), 242, 125291–125291. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.125291
 * Gutsch, M., & Leker, J. (2024). Costs, carbon footprint, and environmental impacts of lithium-ion batteries – From cathode active material synthesis to cell manufacturing and recycling. Applied Energy, 353, 122132-. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2023.122132
 * Vera, M.L., Torres, W.R., Galli, C.I. et al. Environmental impact of direct lithium extraction from brines. Nat Rev Earth Environ 4, 149–165 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-022-00387-5
 * Kelly, J. C., Wang, M., Dai, Q., & Winjobi, O. (2021). Energy, greenhouse gas, and water life cycle analysis of lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide monohydrate from brine and ore resources and their use in lithium ion battery cathodes and lithium ion batteries. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 174, 105762-. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2021.105762

Outline of proposed changes
My plan is to edit/fix up the Environmental Impact & Recycling sections of the article. When viewing the article, you can see a warning under the Environmental Impact section that states that the section requires a bit of cleanup with the problem being "Some factual inaccuracies and vague claims. Lack of academic style. Some grammatical errors". My plan is to resolve these outstanding issues by revising the entire section. If you go to the talk page you can see that there's already an in-depth comment which points out a factual inaccuracies in claims that are presently in the section. More specifically, the comment talks about the claim that Brine extraction requires an estimated amount of 500,000 gallons of water to produce 1 metric ton of lithium and how that is inaccurate, citing another source which claims that it takes closer to 100,000 gallons of brine not water. The key difference between brine and water being that brine is not drinkable or usable for agriculture.

Rough copy:

Lithium batteries are primary batteries that use lithium as an anode. This type of battery is also referred to as a lithium-ion battery and is most commonly used for electric vehicles and electronics. The first type of lithium battery was created by the British chemist M. Stanley Whittingham in the early 1970s and used titanium and lithium as the electrodes. Unfortunately, applications for this battery were limited by the high prices of titanium and the unpleasant scent that the reaction produced. Today's lithium ion battery, modeled after the Whittingham attempt by Akira Yoshino, was first developed in 1985.

Environmental impact
'''The physical mining of lithium and the production of lithium-ion are both labor-intensive processes. Additionally, most batteries are not properly recycled.'''

Extraction
Lithium is extracted on a commercial scale from three principal sources: salt brines, lithium-rich clay, and hard-rock deposits. Each method incurs certain unavoidable environmental disruption.

Continental Brine Extraction
Brine extraction (specifically when using evaporation pools to separate lithium from other substances present in the salt flat) is a particularly water-intensive method, using an estimated 500,000 gallons of water to produce one metric ton of lithium. '''Brine extraction uses open air evaporation to concentrate the brine over time. This results in large quantities of water being lost due to evaporation. It is worth noting that in general, this brine being evaporated has a very high salinity, making the water unusable for any agricultural or human consumption. Afterwards, the conentrated brine is moved to a nearby production facility to produce Li2CO3 and LiOH•H2O.''' In Chile, the world's second largest lithium producer, the nation's two active mines, run by SQM and Albemarle, are both located on the Salar de Atacama salt flat in the Atacama Desert. Tests performed on the brines of these mines showed that the brine has ~350g/L of total dissolved solids. Whilst certain groups and individuals among the local community have raised concerns about the impact of lithium mining on regional water sources, both corporations dispute these assertions, claiming that the brine used in the extraction process is distinct, due to its elevated salinity, from the freshwater systems on which the communities depend. Studies on this mine and the areas water tables have shown that total water storage of Salar de Atacama decreased by -1.16 mm per year from 2010-2017. There is a complex divide among and within local communities, with some accepting payouts from the mining corporations and taking part in their community development initiatives, whilst others are either neglected by such programs, or refuse the corporations' offers due to their aforementioned environmental concerns. In Tagong, a small town in Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture China, there are records of dead fish and large animals floating down some of the rivers near the Tibetan mines. After further investigation, researchers found that this may have been caused by leakage of evaporation pools that sit for months and sometimes even years.

Hard-rock Deposits
'''Lithium can also be extracted from hard-rock deposits. These deposits are most commonly found in Australia, the world's largest producer of lithium, through spodumene ores. Spodumene ores and other lithium bearing hard-rock deposits are far less abundant throughout the world than continental brines.'''

Disposal
Lithium-ion batteries contain metals such as cobalt, nickel, and manganese, which are toxic and can contaminate water supplies and ecosystems if they leach out of landfills. Additionally, fires in landfills or battery-recycling facilities have been attributed to inappropriate disposal of lithium-ion batteries. As a result, some jurisdictions require lithium-ion batteries to be recycled. In spite of the environmental cost of improper disposal of lithium-ion batteries, the rate of recycling is still relatively low, as recycling processes remain costly and immature.

Finite resource
While lithium ion batteries can be used as a part of a sustainable solution, shifting all fossil fuel-powered devices to lithium based batteries might not be the Earth's best option. There is no scarcity yet, but it is a natural resource that can be depleted. According to researchers at Volkswagen, there are about 14 million tons of lithium left, which corresponds to 165 times the production volume in 2018.

Recycling
The EPA has guidelines regarding recycling lithium batteries in the U.S. There are different processes for single-use or rechargeable batteries, so it is advised that batteries of all sizes are brought to special recycling centers. This will allow a safer process of breaking down the individual metals that can be reclaimed for further use.

There are currently three major methods used for the recycling of lithium-ion batteries, those being:

Pyrometallurgical recovery
The processes within the pyrometallurgical recovery include pyrolysis, incineration, roasting, and smelting. Right now, most traditional industrial processes are not able to recover lithium. The main process is to extract other metals including cobalt, nickel, and copper. There is a very low recycling efficiency in materials and use of capital resources. There are high energy requirements along with gas treatment mechanisms that will produce a lower volume of gas byproducts.

Hydrometallurgical metals reclamation
Hydrometallurgy is the application of aqueous solution to recover metal from ores. It is commonly used for copper recovery. This method has been used for other metals to help eliminate the problem of sulfur dioxide byproducts that more conventional smelting causes.

Direct recycling
While recycling is an option, it still generally remains being more expensive than mining the ores themselves. With the rising demand for lithium-ion batteries the need for a more efficient recycling program is detrimental with many companies racing to find the most efficient method. One of the most pressing issues is when the batteries are manufactured, recycling is not considered a design priority.