The growing demand for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has led to significant environmental and resource challenges, such as the toxicity of LIBs’ waste, which pose severe environmental and health risks, and the criticality of some of their components. Efficient recycling processes are essential to mitigate these issues, promoting the recovery of valuable materials and reducing environmental pollution. This review explores the application of electrodialysis in the process of recycling LIBs to contribute to the principles of circular hydrometallurgy. The article is structured to provide a comprehensive understanding of the topic, starting with an overview of the environmental and resource challenges associated with manufacturing LIBs. Then the current recycling processes are presented, focusing on hydrometallurgical methods. The concept of circular hydrometallurgy is introduced, emphasizing sustainable resource recovery. The electrodialysis technique is described in this context, highlighting its integration into the process of recycling LIBs to separate and recover valuable metals. Finally, the article addresses the challenges and limitations of the electrodialysis technique, such as energy consumption and system optimization, and identifies areas for future research and development. Through this analysis, the review aimed to contribute to advancing the development of more sustainable and efficient LIB recycling technologies, ensuring a safer and more environmentally friendly approach to the management of batteries’ lifecycle.

Due to their high theoretical capacity compared to that of state-of-the-art graphite-based electrodes, silicon electrodes have gained much research focus for use in the development of next generation lithium-ion batteries. However, a major drawback of silicon as an electrode material is that it suffers from particle fracturing due to huge volume expansion during electrochemical cycling, thus limiting commercialization of such electrodes. Understanding the role of material microstructure in electrode degradation will be instrumental in the design of stable silicon electrodes. Here, we demonstrate the application of synchrotron-based X-ray tomographic microscopy to capture and track microstructural evolution, phase transformation and fracturing within a silicon-based electrode during electrochemical lithiation

The growth of dendritic and mossy deposits through the separator of lithium batteries can result in battery short circuiting and failure. In situ X-ray CT provides insight into evolution of lithium-metal electrodes during battery operation.