Lithium battery recycling path based on lifecycle assessment: balancing carbon footprint and economy

Research Background and Methods With the continuous increase in installed capacity of power batteries and energy storage batteries, the recycling and disposal of retired batteries has become an unavoidable link in the new energy industry chain. A study published in Volume 181 Part B of the Journal of Energy Storage systematically compared the recycling pathways of lithium-ion batteries using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as the methodological framework, while incorporating both carbon footprint and economic performance dimensions. This study was jointly conducted by Nabeel Al Qirim, Mohammad Kamrul Hasan, Hussam Al Hamadi, A.K.M. Ahasan Habib, and Shayla Islam. The paper was published on December 15, 2026. The core issue of research is whether there is consistency between environmental and economic benefits of different recycling pathways, or whether there is a trade-off relationship that needs to be weighed. The answer to this question is directly related to the selection of recycling technology routes and the design of policy incentives.

Dual evaluation of carbon footprint and economy

Traditional recycling research often focuses on metal recovery rate or a single environmental indicator, while this study ranks carbon footprint and economic performance as evaluation endpoints.

. This means that even if a recycling path can achieve a high material recovery rate, its comprehensive sustainability still needs to be re examined if the carbon emissions caused by process energy consumption and reagent consumption are too high, or if the economic returns are not sufficient to cover the costs. The life cycle assessment method requires defining system boundaries, functional units, and evaluation indicators. Through this framework, the energy consumption, material consumption, and emissions during the recycling process are transformed into comparable carbon footprint data, and combined with cost and benefit analysis, a comparison is formed between the environmental and economic dimensions. This dual dimensional perspective helps identify paths that are “environmentally friendly but not economically feasible” or “economically feasible but have high carbon emissions”.

The significance of polymer additives and new energy materials industry

Lithium battery recycling is not only a metallurgical problem, but also deeply involves polymer materials.

. The separation, degradation, or reuse of polymer components in battery separators, adhesives, encapsulation films, and battery casings during the recycling process directly affects the carbon footprint and economy of the recycling pathway. For example, the handling of adhesives and membrane materials can change the complexity of disassembly and sorting processes, thereby affecting overall energy consumption and costs. For the polymer additive industry, the inspiration of this research is that the design of additives and polymer materials for new energy applications needs to consider the feasibility of end of pipe recycling in advance. Separable adhesive systems, membrane materials compatible with recycling processes, and additive solutions that help improve the purity and value of recycled materials may all become key links in the closed-loop system of new energy materials. The carbon footprint assessment of recycling pathways also provides a framework for linking environmental declarations and lifecycle data of additive products.

Research value and areas to be clarified

This study provides a way to integrate carbon footprint and economic performance into the evaluation of recycling pathways, providing a quantitative basis for screening battery recycling technology routes and policy-making.

. However, the source abstract information is limited, and details such as the comparison results of specific recycling paths, functional unit settings, system boundary ranges, and data sources still need to be confirmed by consulting the full text of the paper. In addition, the directionality of research conclusions towards specific varieties of polymer additives also needs to be further analyzed in conjunction with more detailed material lists and process parameters. Overall, this study advances the issue of recycling from “whether it can be recycled” to “at what carbon and economic cost”, providing a noteworthy evaluation perspective for the green closed-loop of the new energy materials industry chain.

Information source:Perspective of lithium-ion battery recycling pathway considering carbon footprint and economic performance based on life cycle assessment， Organized by Herun Chemical.