M. GRAS Matthieu

Research activities

Recycling NiMH batteries using green chemistry based on ionic liquids:

NiMH batteries are the technology dominating the market of energy storage for hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) as well as portable tools however the recycling rate of those devices are currently low. In addition, the existing processes are not sustainable because they use hazardous materials and are energy consuming.
NiMH batteries contain various valuable metals such as Co, Ni, Mn and mixtures of lanthanides (Ln) including La, Ce, Pr, Nd. Lanthanides are part of the rare earth elements are among the 20 critical metals as classified by the European Commission.
To respond to those environmental and economic issues, the aim of this project is to develop new methods for the selective separation of different elements in NiMH batteries, including rare earth metals.
In order to fit with the green chemistry movement, it is necessary to eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances. Volatile organic solvents should thus be replaced by safe, non-flammable and non-volatile ionic liquids.

This work will be carried out in collaboration between a recycling company called Recupyl and the LEPMI lab and will be financially supported with a PhD grant provided by the CEMAM labex.