Currently, the dominant practices in industry for the recycling of Lithium Ion Batteries start with either comminution as a precursor step, for initial module-breaking and access to raw materials, or pyrometallurgy. In these conventional approaches, batteries’ active materials become mixed in a lower-value form, and their structures and morphological properties are destroyed.

This Special Issue of Separations focuses on advanced separation methods able to maintain value in Lithium Ion Recycling, focusing on next-generation recycling approaches that preserve value and structure with a view to higher-value and lower-impact material recovery. Whilst the focus is on Lithium Ion Battery Recycling, we also encourage contributions that look at recovery in future battery chemistries.

This Special Issue will focus on novel methods at the frontier of Lithium Ion Battery Recycling for clean material separation and the maintenance of materials in a higher value state in order to preserve value and reduce the impact of downstream recycling processes.

It will focus on methods of disassembly, deconstruction and delamination that promote the development of more efficient Lithium Ion Battery Recycling approaches, as well as early design-for-recycling interventions, enabling the cleaner separation and disassembly of Lithium Ion Battery Packs.

We are also interested in techno-economic and life cycle assessments of alternative routes for Lithium Ion Battery Recycling.

Critical raw materials (CRMs) are essential for rapidly developing technologies that are integral to both the green and digital transitions. Yet, with ever-growing demand and finite extraction possibilities, it is crucial that methods of recovery, reuse and recycling are developed and implemented to ensure a sustainable supply. This collection aims to gather cutting-edge research and innovative solutions that address the challenges and opportunities in the sustainable management of CRMs. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Innovative methods for the recovery of CRMs from waste streams
• CRM extraction techniques as applied to secondary sources
• Advances in the reuse of CRMs in manufacturing processes
• CRM recycling technologies and their applications in various industries
• CRM recycling systems, including collection networks and reverse logistics
• Environmental and economic impacts of CRM recovery and recycling
• Policy and regulatory frameworks supporting sustainable CRM management
• Case studies and real-world applications of CRM recovery, reuse, and recycling

Critical raw materials (CRMs) are essential for rapidly developing technologies that are integral to both the green and digital transitions. Yet, with ever-growing demand and finite extraction possibilities, it is crucial that methods of recovery, reuse and recycling are developed and implemented to ensure a sustainable supply. This collection aims to gather cutting-edge research and innovative solutions that address the challenges and opportunities in the sustainable management of CRMs. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Innovative methods for the recovery of CRMs from waste streams
• CRM extraction techniques as applied to secondary sources
• Advances in the reuse of CRMs in manufacturing processes
• CRM recycling technologies and their applications in various industries
• CRM recycling systems, including collection networks and reverse logistics
• Environmental and economic impacts of CRM recovery and recycling
• Policy and regulatory frameworks supporting sustainable CRM management
• Case studies and real-world applications of CRM recovery, reuse, and recycling

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are currently the most widely used secondary batteries, end-of-life LIBs contain a large number of valuable parts, both environmental pollution and waste of resources can be caused once they were improperly handled. This special issue focuses on the latest progresses in recycling of lithium-ion batteries, including but not limited to the novel recycling technologies of various components in batteries, such as cathode materials, anode materials, current collectors, separators, electrolytes, etc.; advanced pretreatment methods of spent batteries (including rapid diagnosis, disassembly process, separation methods, etc.); material flow analysis, ecological environmental impact, economic analysis, etc. of battery recycling process. This special issue will provide important guidance for the construction of advanced battery recycling system.

The scope of the this Research Topic is to collect novel and promising results and ideas devoted to tackle the thorny issue of spent LIBs. The Topic strongly encourages contributions dealing with every step of the processing of spent LIBs, from the assessment of the state of health (SoH) and state of charge (SoC) to the leaching and the recovery of metals, including approaches for the second life of LIBs. Studies involving real matrices (instead of synthetic, home-made samples) and scalable strategies are strongly encouraged, to draw valid routes that can help the many industrial actors that are investing capitals in this field.