Lithium-ion Battery Lifecycle Emits Chemicals That Pollute Forever
In the small city of Lubbock, Texas, Dr. Jennifer Guelfo, an associate professor of environmental engineering at Texas Tech University, leads a research team exploring the emission of PFAS from the production, disposal, and recycling of the batteries that power electric vehicles. Lasting thousands of years in the environment, these so-called forever chemicals do not break down as many other chemicals do.
In the small city of Lubbock, Texas, Dr. Jennifer Guelfo, an associate professor of environmental engineering at Texas Tech University, leads a research team exploring the emission of PFAS from the production, disposal, and recycling of the batteries that power electric vehicles. Lasting thousands of years in the environment, these so-called forever chemicals do not break down as many other chemicals do.
The scientists on Dr. Guelfo’s team use mass spectrometry to look at the occurrence, fate transport and treatment of PFAS, and “these are all topics that are currently of national and international concern,” she said.
Dr. Guelfo [photo at left] and her team have discovered that the use of a novel sub-class of per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) in lithium-ion batteries is a growing source of air and water pollution, both in the United States and in Europe.
Testing by these researchers showed that these unique PFAS, called bis-perfluoroalkyl sulfonimides (bis-FASIs), demonstrate environmental persistence and ecotoxicity similar to that of “older notorious compounds” like perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified PFOA as “carcinogenic to humans,” and it is no longer made in the United States.
Their findings are published in a peer-reviewed study in the July 8, 2024 issue of the journal “Nature Communications” under the title, “Lithium-ion battery components are at the nexus of sustainable energy and environmental release of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.”
The study has global implications as demand for clean energy sources soars.
“OUR RESULTS REVEAL A DILEMMA ASSOCIATED WITH MANUFACTURING, DISPOSAL, AND RECYCLING OF CLEAN ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE. SLASHING CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS WITH INNOVATIONS LIKE ELECTRIC CARS IS CRITICAL, BUT IT SHOULDN’T COME WITH THE SIDE EFFECT OF INCREASING PFAS POLLUTION. WE NEED TO FACILITATE TECHNOLOGIES, MANUFACTURING CONTROLS AND RECYCLING SOLUTIONS THAT CAN FIGHT THE CLIMATE CRISIS WITHOUT RELEASING HIGH RECALCITRANT POLLUTANTS.” – Jennifer Guelfo, Ph.D., Associate Professor Texas Tech University
This is happening today, and now that the recycling of lithium-ion batteries is increasing, a handful of recent studies indicate that air and water pollution from the recycling facilities will increase too, unless new technologies are found to curtail these emissions. Globally, work is ongoing to find those new techniques.
For instance, at the end of April, Nissan and Ecobat Solutions UK Ltd. announced they would partner to give used EV batteries a second life beyond the car. The partnership will investigate how to recover, repair and repurpose used EV batteries from UK salvage operators to help create a sustainable circular energy economy.
Alan Low, EV Battery Circular Economy Manager at Nissan Energy Services, said, “We are working together with Ecobat to assess how we engage with salvage operators, manage transportation, test, repair and reuse electric vehicle batteries in order to understand the commercial value chain.”
“These are batteries from cars that have been dismantled due to old age or that have been written off by insurers, however the batteries themselves still have an opportunity to be reused. They still have a useful life ahead of them, so we need to create a sustainable way of recovering them.”
Having launched the LEAF electric car back in 2011, Nissan has the longest history with electric vehicles in the UK and is keen to establish a lead in the processing of used EV batteries – an industry that is expected to grow in the coming years.
The Global EV Lithium-ion Battery Recycling market is forecast to rise between 2024 and 2031, according to a 2023 report by Market Research Elite, driven by the rapid adoption of electric vehicles and the increasing emphasis on sustainability and conservation of scarce resources.
“With the global push towards reducing carbon emissions and the transition from fossil fuel-based vehicles to electric alternatives, the demand for lithium-ion batteries has surged,” states the report, which points to the need for effective recycling solutions to handle the growing volume of used batteries and minimize the environmental impact of battery disposal.
Lithium-ion battery recycling involves mechanical, hydrometallurgical, and pyrometallurgical methods to recover valuable materials such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese.
These materials can be reused in the production of new batteries, enabling a circular lifecycle. Recycling lithium-ion batteries reduces reliance on raw material extraction and lowers the carbon footprint of battery manufacturing.
It also produces forever chemicals.
But it’s not just the recycling of lithium-ion batteries that emits forever chemicals, it’s their production and their disposal in landfills.
“We’ve discovered that an understudied type of PFAS or ‘forever chemicals’ called bis-FASIs, such as those used in lithium-ion battery production, are an emerging issue not only for communities near manufacturing sites but also anywhere these batteries are thrown away,” co-author Dr. P. Lee Ferguson head of the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University, said.
“Today, only 5% of LiBs [lithium-ion batteries] are recycled; bis-FASIs have been found in municipal solid-waste landfill leachate.” Ferguson said. “In North Carolina specifically, we’ve found these chemicals seeping from landfills into leachates, which highlights the need for more studies to assess the sources and spreading of these compounds here and across the country.”
Already, nearly every American tested by physicians has been found to have PFAS in their blood. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of 5,000 people a year since the early 1960s, reported PFAS in the blood of 97% of the thousands of Americans tested.
Health problems arise as very small doses of PFAS increase the risk of deadly kidney and testicular cancer, impacts to the liver and heart, high cholesterol, immunosuppression, and immune and developmental damage to infants and children.
PFAS are recognized internationally as “recalcitrant contaminants,” and bis-FASIs are known to be mobile and toxic, but little is known about the environmental impacts of bis-FASIs released during the manufacture, use, and disposal of lithium-ion batteries.
Companies that hold patents for and/or advertise production or use of bis-perfluoroalkyl sulfonimide (bis-FASI) salts including bis-FMeSI and its longer-chain homologs for use as an electrolyte or polymer additive include 3M, Solvay, and Arkema.
In 2023, the Belgium-based chemical company Solvay agreed to a US$393 million settlement to clean up contamination from its forever chemicals in New Jersey’s drinking water and soil and to compensate for the environmental damage the company caused.
Solvay Specialty Polymers USA, LLC reached a legal settlement with New Jersey’s Attorney General’s Office and Department of Environmental Protection on contamination at and near its West Deptford plant in southwestern New Jersey near Philadelphia.
Mike Finelli, Solvay’s chief North America officer, said the settlement allows “all parties to continue focusing on cleaning the environment.” He said the company has been investigating and remediating PFAS at its West Deptford site since 2013.
Finelli said the company’s products are used in lithium-ion batteries and components for compact engines in hybrid vehicles, among other applications.
The Texas Tech authors state in their abstract, “We confirm the clean energy sector as an unrecognized and potentially growing source of international PFAS release.”
“Results underscore that environmental impacts of clean energy infrastructure merit scrutiny to ensure that reduced CO2 emissions are not achieved at the expense of increasing global releases of persistent organic pollutants,” they write.
This research team includes scientists from Duke University, North Carolina State University, Eastern Carolina University, and Minnesota’s Archer Science for robotic automated sample preparation to support their research.
The project took Guelfo and her team to Minnesota and Kentucky, and also to Antwerp, Belgium, and Salindres, France, to examine rivers and creeks around some of the world’s most important PFAS manufacturing sites.
In Minnesota, in January 2022, the team hiked five miles down the Mississippi River, to a creek near 3M’s Cottage Grove manufacturing plant, one of the U.S.’s largest fluorochemical manufacturing plants, drilling holes in the ice and taking water samples close to the plant’s outfall, to measure occurrence of bis-FASIs and other PFAS.
This plant – just eight miles from the twin cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul – has been producing PFAS since 1947 and has historically released concentrations of these forever chemicals to the creek, which discharges into the Mississippi River, where the highest bis-FMeSI concentration was detected by the Texas Tech team.
Bis-FMeSI was detected in all but three samples, including in snow, suggesting both outfall discharge and atmospheric deposition, and a total of 15 additional PFAS were detected. Bis-FASI were present in water and sediment near discharges, and were measured in soil, again indicating atmospheric transport.
3M’s Minnesota plant is already under scrutiny for PFAS release, and has instituted related controls; yet, current safeguards fail to fully remove the novel LiB-associated, bis-FASIs, which may be difficult to treat with conventional water treatment methods.
There are some solutions already. The data showed that concentrations of bis-FASIs in water can be reduced using granular activated carbon and ion exchange, methods the researchers say already are used to remove PFAS from drinking water.
“These results illustrate that treatment approaches designed for PFOA and PFOS can also remove bis-FASIs,” co-author Ferguson says. “Use of these approaches is likely to increase as treatment facilities are upgraded to comply with newly enacted EPA Maximum Contaminant Levels for PFAS.”
First PFAS Rule: Don't Drink Them
On April 10, 2024, the Biden-Harris Administration issued the first-ever national, legally enforceable drinking water standard to protect communities from exposure to harmful forever chemicals.
The final rule is expected to reduce PFAS exposure for about 100 million people, prevent thousands of deaths, and reduce tens of thousands of serious illnesses. The announcement complements President Joe Biden’s government-wide action plan to combat PFAS pollution.
“DRINKING WATER CONTAMINATED WITH PFAS HAS PLAGUED COMMUNITIES ACROSS THIS COUNTRY FOR TOO LONG. THAT IS WHY PRESIDENT BIDEN HAS MADE TACKLING PFAS A TOP PRIORITY, INVESTING HISTORIC RESOURCES TO ADDRESS THESE HARMFUL CHEMICALS AND PROTECT COMMUNITIES NATIONWIDE.” – Michael Regan, Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
“Our PFAS Strategic Roadmap marshals the full breadth of EPA’s authority and resources to protect people from these harmful forever chemicals. Today, I am proud to finalize this critical piece of our Roadmap, and in doing so, save thousands of lives and help ensure our children grow up healthier,” Administrator Regan said.
In addition to the final rule, EPA announced nearly US$1 billion in unprecedented, newly available funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help states and territories implement PFAS testing and treatment at public water systems and to help owners of private wells address PFAS contamination.
“I try to look at water from the perspective of a fish,” co-author Dr. Ferguson said. “Why should we be worried about pollution from bis-FASIs? The aliphatic fluorine-carbon bond is the strongest bond in organic chemistry. It makes these compounds virtually undegradable. Once they’re in our environment, they really are forever.”
“It’s an open question,” Ferguson said, “whether clean energy is, really, clean.”
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