23 comments

lightedman10 days ago
I'm hearing in other chats that this is actually a rehash of a nonsensical recycling attempt done a couple of years ago.

So I want to ask a question. What in this study would throw the HN people off as incorrect or raising a flag? Is terminology being used incorrectly? Is data vs shown photographs not quite matching up with what is being stated? I'm no battery expert, so I'm quite curious as to why I'm hearing that this is fake from people that work directly in the battery industry (and they're not big companies, most of them are individuals providing various services, some in recycling, some in custom manufacturing, some in installation.)

dgellow10 days ago
What are they saying?
userbinator11 days ago
Just like the periodic news about a new study on a method that makes batteries last effectively forever, this is unlikely to be implemented.
wolfi111 days ago
the problem is rather to automate this and upscale this and I'm not sure how safe this method is. generally speaking if the EU makes battery recycling mandatory it definitely would benefit from a method where you don't have to grind the battery. I see this more as a PoC which can be further explored
sandworm10111 days ago
Oldschool lead-acid batteries need not be destroyed to be recycled. They can, and are, easily disassembled and refurbished. For all the lithium hype, lead-acid remains a valid option for non-mobile applications where storage density is not relevant.
burnt-resistor11 days ago
This isn't really a viable technology because it requires careful invasive chemical injection into risky cell chemistries. Generally, liquid electrolyte and plastic separator NMC, LFP, and LiPo should be banned for all but hobby uses when far safer solid state cells with ceramic separators exist such as those offered by ProLogium. NMC are extremely dangerous under deflagration, and LFP create huge amounts of colorless and odorless hydrogen gas that has already blown up many improperly engineered buildings that used them and assumed they were "safe". Real solid state electrolyte chemistries tend to have much slower passivation growth than liquid chemistries.
Tade011 days ago
> and LFP create huge amounts of colorless and odorless hydrogen gas

Lead-acid batteries do that while being charged, so it's an engineering problem to solve, not some insurmountable challenge.

SoftTalker10 days ago
I'd think that the hydrogen, being much lighter than air, will accumulate at the highest point in the room. Just be sure you have a vent there?
burnt-resistor10 days ago
> Lead-acid batteries do that while being charged

Apples and oranges strawman. In very small quantities that can be managed by simply dumping it overboard using small diameter tubing.

Watch the StacheD YT channel about the structures blown up by deflagrating LFP packs because they lacked constant igniters like Megapacks. Also, the Moss Landing LFP fire reignited after 20 months. LFP aren't anywhere close to "safe", they're just relatively safer compared to NMC.

b11211 days ago
Yup, saw this in a documentary. A bunch of tourists were stranded on a desert island, but this professor had them re-energize them with some coconuts and bananas.

Longest 3 hour tour ever.

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