Environmental Hazards of Lithium-Ion Batteries Explained
School
Arizona State University**We aren't endorsed by this school
Course
COM 308
Subject
Chemistry
Date
Dec 10, 2024
Pages
17
Uploaded by CountDiscovery18744
Preliminary Canvas Project Number: Project ___Lab Section: Lab ___Project Title: The Chase Towards a Greener Battery Questions of Exploration: 1.Which materials/chemicals present in lithium-ion batteries are a hazard to theenvironment?2.How do the environmental impacts of the strategies of recycling lithium-ion batteriescompare to throwing it in the landfill/commercial waste?
Data Gathering Process Assessment for Question 1 1.Process Overview:The data search focused on finding articles and governmental organizations that assessed how lithium battery compounds react after the batteries end life, specifically which hazardous impacts they have. The first criteria used was context; the search was specific on end-of-life lithium batteries' impacts on the environment. Consequently, the search limited itself to articles and visualizations with a scientific perspective. The second criteria was relevance; how well was the data presented by governmental organizations and articles able to answer the questions proposed by us. Relevance also included how recent the report was, giving preference to the most recent ones, and in which platform we found it, giving preference to platforms known for reputable publications in chemistry and environmental sciences. Another criteria used was the reliability of the sources in the chemical and environmental sciences. When assessing chemicals' effects on the environment, the data needed to have well-founded sources that classified the effects of compounds found in batteries as hazardous. 2.Search Details:a.Keywords/Phrases: “Lithium battery breakdown”; “Lithium battery chemicalcontamination”; “Battery waste hazards”; “Environmental impacts of lithium batterywaste”; “End-of-life lithium battery hazards”, “Lithium battery fire incidents”Among the phrases used to find the data for question 1 the key words are: “Lithiumbattery”, “Environmental hazardous”, “End-of-life”, “Fires”b.Search Timeline: Searches were conducted between February 6 and March 7. Duringthe first weeks the search focused on gaining a general understanding on the topic. Thisfirst step allowed us to decide on which batteries the data would focus on and whichhazardous impacts we would explore. With this background in mind, the searchconducted was specialized. Finally, after working and discussing the data obtained byeach group member, we decided which articles worked better together and which oneswould help us answer the proposed questions.c.Platforms Used:-UBC Library-Government Organizations websites-United States Environmental Protection Agency-Science Direct-Google Scholar3.Source Evaluation:a.UBC Library was chosen as a platform to guide our research to possible useful sourcesdepending on our area of interest. This tool was helpful because we were sure the sourcesaccessed had the approval of UBC Library and therefore could be used as a reliablesource of information.b.Government Organizations websites and the United States Protection Agency providedan easy overview of the information, it was a source of helpful visualizations that areeasy to be interpreted by the general public. The websites were useful because they
provide many reports on different areas, especially on the many risk assessments of lithium battery waste. Additionally, the general language used made it easy to comprehend the data and the availability of the sources used to write the reports guaranteed the information was reliable. c.Science Direct is a multidisciplinary journal pro-science based which was useful whenlooking at reliable chemical impacts of battery waste. There we could find insights onmaterial breakdown and how the chemicals can affect the environment. It was highlyspecific to our lithium battery waste context, providing references and visualizations.d.Google Scholar helped us to connect us with journals and organizations that could serveas a data source. We found Google Scholar particularly useful at the beginning of thesearch when we weren’t specific and when we were building a background on the batterywaste topic. After the search specialization, Google Scholar was less used because thedata sources provided were broad.e.Both StatCan and OurWorldInData, identified as possible datasets on delivery one, wereexcluded as useful sources for question 1. Although we found visualizations and dataspecifics to lithium batteries, the information was not relevant for answering question 1;there was no data on the hazardous impacts lithium batteries can have on their end-of-lifeor information on the materials present in batteries. The same occurred for the UnitedNations Environment Programme and the World Health Organization. These sourcesprovided some information about lithium batteries but did not assess the impacts oflithium battery waste on the environment. In summary these four information sourceswere chosen because of their reliability however they were excluded because they did notmeet the criterias of relevance and context.4.Mastery Level Insights:a.Google Scholar was an easy platform that helped us connect to data sources based on thekeywords on our search, however the platform needed an additional reliability checkprocess for each article accessed.b.In contrast, UBC Library directly connected us to reliable journals and data sourcesspecific to our environmental sciences context. Because UBC Library is a renomated andreliable source we were more confident with working on the websites provided by it.c.We learned that being specific with the words chosen during data sources searching canhelp narrow the information we find and therefore help to answer our question.d.Checking the sources used in reports and reviews can connect you to more specificinformation, which helps to answer our research questions better by having a specializedview on the topic of interest.e.Finding visualizations on specific statistical websites for our question was hard and novisualizations were specific to the chemical and environmental impacts of end-of-lifebattery context needed. We were able to find visualizations inside reports and articles, butthose were more difficult to find because we could not directly look for articles withvisualizations. This led to accessing more articles so we could find a reliable source withvisualization.
Data Gathering Process Assessment for Question 2 1.Process Overview:When searching for articles for this particular research question, there were two main steps taken: a preliminary search, and then a deep dive search. The preliminary search included gathering basic information regarding the topic. Information that would be used to refine the deep dive search. For example, the preliminary look through included searching for the environmental impact of recycling and throwing batteries in the landfill. Generally, we found that they both have a negative impact, with throwing batteries in the landfill being more severe. With this information, we were able to search for articles that provided deeper data regarding the topic, by refining our search to look for what raw materials can actually be extracted during recycling, and how useful they can be for creating new batteries. Some of the criteria that we used when choosing data sources include: a.Data sources must be reputable - government resources, known institutes that publish papers, etc.Data sources with secondary information was okay, as long as they cited their sources.b.We were also looking for papers with data sets and visualizations. This was not a requirement forall articles, but only some, as such datasets would deepen our research as the numbers would backup our findings.c.The data source had to discuss lithium-ion batteries specifically, and such batteries affect theenvironment, as this was the main focus of our entire projectd.The data source had to provide sufficient information to be considered. This means that the datasource had to make a point, and then explain the point completely. In this way, a single datasource that we choose can cover a lot of information, which proves to be very useful during thedata gathering process.2.Search Details:a.Keywords/Phrases:i.Recycling Lithium-Ion Batteriesii.Lithium-Ion Batteries in Landfillsiii.Recycling Lithium-Ion Batteries Versus Disposaliv.Datasets on Recycling Lithium-Ion Batteriesv.Materials Recycled From Lithium-Ion Batteries1.It is evident that the main keywords we used for this question included:lithium-ion batteries, recycling, landfill, etc.b.Search Timeline:i.February 6-17 - Preliminary, surface level searches - these included gainingbackground knowledge and information regarding the specific topic, so as toallow us to know what in particular we should be focusing onii.February 18-29 - Deeper, focused searches - these included searching with thespecific keywords and phrases listed above. During this time frame, we were ableto learn even more about the topic, as well as find valuable information andpreliminary articles that we might use as part of this deliverable.
iii.March 1-7 - After having a group discussion, we used this time to make our finalfew searches and we narrowed down and solidified the articles we wanted to usefor this deliverablec.Platforms Used:i.UBC Libraryii.Google Scholariii.Science Directiv.Government Pages3.Source Evaluation:a.Sources were evaluated based on the information they provided, as well as thereputability of the source itself. The more information that was actually relevant to ourquestion, the more likely we were to select that source. Additionally, we excluded sourcesthat were from non-reputable sources, and kept those that were from governmentagencies, organizations, or well-known paper publishing services. The only article thatdid not come from one of these sources was the one that provided an opposing view tothe research question, as it is a blog written by ASMYL-Energy. The reason that thisarticle was still selected was because it provided an interesting insight into an opposingview of the previous research we found. While other articles were pushing for readers torecycle lithium-ion batteries, this one article strayed away from the others and presentedthe truth about why recycling is not as glorious as we make it out to be. And as a result ofthis different perspective, the article was selected and not excluded.b.The two data sites that we identified in the first deliverable - StatCan andOurWorldInData - did not prove to be useful in any way. They did not have any dataregarding lithium-ion batteries and were thus not used during the data gathering process.c.Additionally, the three news agencies we identified were also not useful for this particularresearch question. Although they are still good resources for projects such as this one,they did not have the particular information that we were looking for, and if they did, thenthe information was not sufficient to answer our main question.5.Mastery Level Insights:a.Since our two data sites and three news agencies listed in the first deliverable were notuseful during data gathering, we used Google Scholar to help us broaden our search toother sources that could provide valuable information. Google Scholar was a great tool touse as it allowed us to sift through thousands of accessible articles. Additionally, usingthe UBC Library for searching helped us gain insights into the reputable sources that areavailable to us.b.One challenge we faced was finding sources with appropriate visual data. A lot of sourceseither had no visualizations at all, or they had a visualization, with no provided table ofthe data they used to create it.c.A strength of our data gathering was that the keyword searches that we used were not toospecific nor were they too broad. This allowed us to obtain a broad range of articles thatwere relevant to our research question.d.Some reasons that we may discard specific sources may be because they did not answerour question, they may be a non-reputable source or they had information that we already
found from another source. If a source met one of these three criterias, then they were not considered any further for this deliverable. Part 2: Assessment of Data Collected Source Details for Question 1: 1.Article 1:a.Title: “Environmental impacts, pollution sources and pathways of spentlithium-ion batteries”b.Author(s): Wojciech Mrozik, Mohammad Ali Rajaeifar, Oliver Heidrich and PaulChristensenc.Publication Date: October 13, 2021d.Last Accessed: March 7, 2024e.URL: https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2021/ee/d1ee00691f#cit592.Article 2:f.Title: “The Necessity of Recycling of Waste Li-Ion Batteries Used in ElectricVehicles as Objects Posing a Threat to Human Health and the Environment” *g.Author(s): Agnieszka Sobianowska-Turek, Weronika Urbańska, Anna Janicka,Maciej Zawiślak and Jędrzej Matlah.Publication Date: June 1, 2021i.Last Accessed: March 7, 2024j.URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2313-4321/6/2/353.Government Report:a.Title: “An Analysis of Lithium-ion Battery Fires in Waste Management andRecycling”b.Author(s): United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)c.Publication Date: July, 2021d.Last Accessed: March 7, 2024e.URL:https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2021-08/lithium-ion-battery-report-update-7.01_508.pdf4.Opposing Article Report:a.Title: “Electric Vehicle Myths”b.Author(s): United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)c.Publication Date: August 28, 2023d.Last Accessed: March 7, 2021e.URL: https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/electric-vehicle-myths
Source Details for Question 2: 1.Article 1:a.Title: It’s Time to Get Serious About Recycling Lithium-Ion Batteriesb.Author(s): Mitch Jacobc.Publication Date: July 14, 2019d.Last Accessed: March 5, 2024e.URL:https://cen.acs.org/materials/energy-storage/time-serious-recycling-lithium/97/i282.Article 2:a.Title: The Environmental Impact of Lithium-Ion Batteries - How Green Are TheyReally?b.Author(s): Andy Patrizioc.Publication Date: May 23, 2023d.Last Accessed: March 5, 2024e.URL:https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/hardware/environmental-impact-lithium-ion-batteries-how-green-are-they-really#close-modal3.Government Report:a.Title: Lithium Ion Battery Recyclingb.Author(s): Organization - American Chemical Societyc.Publication Date: September 22, 2022d.Last Accessed: March 5, 2024e.URL:https://www.cas.org/resources/cas-insights/sustainability/lithium-ion-battery-recycling4.Opposing Viewpoint Article:a.Title: Lithium Ion Battery Recycling: Why is it So Hard?b.Author(s): Nikhil Koratkarc.Publication Date: August 3, 2022d.Last Accessed: March 5, 2024e.URL: https://www.alsym.com/blog/lithium-ion-battery-recycling/Insights From Each Article for Question 1 For question 1, article 1, we learned that there is an increase in the demand and production of Lithium-Ion batteries (LIBs). There is a lack of common regulation globally to deal with battery waste. This waste is hazardous to organisms, the environment and human health. Between the many impacts of battery waste, fire incidents, degradation of battery material results in hazardous products, toxic gas release and leaching of toxic material all contaminate soil, water and air, which directly affect human health. Additionally, the recycling process has a low rate and it is not pollution free. Because of the high
rate of landfilling or improper disposal, lithium-ion batteries commonly start fires producing a mixture of toxic gasses and smoke, spreading toxic particles to further areas. Furthermore, the resulting fire residues and materials contaminate soil and water sources. Emissions to soil and water also happen due to illegal processing of battery waste or due to landfilling. For question 1, article 2, we learned that batteries have complex chemical composition and therefore are considered hazardous waste. There is an increase in the demand for batteries and many countries are banning vehicles with combustion energy only. Lithium batteries can be repeatedly charged and have variations on their chemical composition. Usually the cathode is composed of metals such as cobalt, nickel (known for its poor stability) and manganese which are considered hazardous. Copper foil and graphite are also common in batteries. A common battery type for cameras, mobile phones and laptops is LCO (made with lithium and cobalt oxide) which has a low thermal stability and a short life span. Additionally, Cobalt represents a significant amount in LCO batteries, considered harmful. For question 1, article 3, we learned that lithium ion batteries (LIBs) lightweight, powerful and inexpensive characteristics lead to a high consumption of this battery type. However this high energy potential can lead to combustion or explosions caused by LIBs, igniting surrounding materials. The occurrence of fires occurs when batteries are mechanically damaged such as being crushed. Overcharging or over discharging may also increase the chances of fires. Additionally, if the liquid electrolyte within LIBs evaporates, flammable gasses can be generated, causing a fire to start. When discarded in municipal waste LIBs have a high chance of starting fires due to the process steps. At the California waste management facilities in 2018, 40% of fires were caused by lithium-ion batteries. In summary the threats imposed by improper disposal of lithium ion batteries are divided into: injury, waste and recycling service disruption, monetary impacts and valuable time spent by emergency response services. For question 1, article 4 we learned that many misconceptions surround electric vehicle effects on the environment. First battery recharging is more environmentally friendly than gasoline usage due to the smaller carbon pollution. Even when accounting for manufacturing of the batteries, electric vehicles are better for the climate than gasoline cars. The greenhouse gasses emissions produced by the battery, its manufacturing and end-of-life and its feedstock represent almost half of the same components (but now vehicle in use percentage instead of battery) for gasoline cars. Another myth is that electric vehicles are not as safe as gasoline ones. However in order to be sold and distributed all electric vehicles need to meet the standard safety conventions defined by the U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. Insights From Each Article for Question 2 For question 2, article 1, we learned that recycling lithium-ion batteries is currently not universally done. Rather, due to technical constraints, economic barriers and logistic issues, manufacturers have instead turned to lowering the cost of batteries and increasing their longevity. As a result, however, less than 5% of batteries are recycled, resulting in an increase in mining virgin materials. With this comes associated environmental damage due to contamination of nearby soil, as well as increasing ties with illegal mining, human rights abuse, and harmful environmental practices in the democratic Republic of Congo, which does the majority of mining for batteries. Thus, with the increase in demand for lithium-ion batteries, by
researching alternative methods of recycling, less mining of virgin materials can be done, and the associated harm will be greatly reduced. For question 2, article 2, we learned that lithium ion batteries are a good choice for batteries as they have a longer lifespan compared to traditional batteries, reducing the frequency of replacement. This ultimately contributes to waste production and although they have some toxic chemicals, they do not contain toxic heavy metals unlike other batteries. Despite these benefits, however, recycling lithium-ion batteries is more expensive than simply making new ones. As a result, the messy process of mining lithium must occur, leaving behind a toxic stew of chemicals that leach into nearby soil and contaminate waterways. It is also estimated that between 200 million and 500 million tons of spent battery wastes are generated annually by 2020, and due to their toxic nature, throwing them in the landfill is not an option. Thus, the need for recycling these batteries is greater than ever, and it is our responsibility to search for greener methods of giving used batteries a new life. For question 2, article 3, we learned that lithium ion battery recycling methods are associated with financial incentives, and government policies play a significant role in developing recycling capacities. In support of suggesting that government policies should step in for such policies, this article describes that recycling comes with many benefits, including decreasing water consumption and pollution from mining, as well as reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. With recycling lithium ion batteries also comes the reduced need to mine for virgin materials, which is environmentally costly. This article states that as long as battery recycling has a potential economic benefit, then the likelihood of battery recycling on a large scale will be improved. What brings us one step closer to this is that many countries are finding research into battery recycling methods, and a variety of other countries have already implemented recycling laws. Laws that can lead to a future with reduced environmental harm. For question 2, article 4, we learned that the design for lithium-ion batteries does not take into consideration safe and efficient disassembly when the battery has reached the end of its life. The process is rather dangerous as dust containing toxic elements can be released and can harm humans as well as contaminate nearby soil. As a result, the recycling process faces great challenges in extracting the desired materials, especially as it harms the environment in the process. Some methods include pyrometallurgical processes (heating the batteries to high temperatures), hydrometallurgical processes (acid leaching), alkali leaching (depends on chelation of ammonium and metal ions), and purification (purifying elements from extracted materials). Even with these different recycling methods, not a lot of the desired elements are extracted from the batteries, and each method poses harm towards the environment. Data Quality Veracity Assessment: Question 1, Article 1: -The Royal Chemistry Society is an international non-for-profit organization renowned forpublishing influential articles for the chemical sciences. The articles and reviews include sourcesfrom original research articles andalso publish original conducted researches. The article providedincluded a specific overview of contamination paths for lithium-ion batteries. The referencesincluded other reliable articles for the chemical impacts of lithium battery waste such as PubMed.Because the information gathered relies on original research or present work, there could be
influence of personal bias of researches when measuring the impacts of battery waste effects or when gathering data from other sources. Finally the recent publication date guarantees an accurate and up-to-date analysis of the impacts of battery waste. Question 1, Article 2: -The Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute is a publisher of scholarly open access journalsthat go through a rigid peer-review and editorial process in order to be published to the public,therefore it constitutes a reliable source. The article provided throughout the threats lithiumbatteries pose to human health by providing original and well founded visualizations.Furthermore the recent publication date guarantees up-to-date information on the impacts ofbattery waste on human health. Again bias could have happened when looking for other sourcesto back the information being presented, but to diminish the impact of bias the article alsoincludes if no significant threats were found for specific materials in batteries.Question 1, Article 3: -Environmental Protection Agency is a governmental human health and environmental protectionagency. The reviews and publications elaborated have the purpose to inform the public. Theirprocess includes internal review, data provider review and an independent review to guaranteereliable information to the public. The report provided was complete and easy to follow, itprovided many categories to explore the complex theme of lithium battery waste impacts,including visualizations and exposing the methodology used to gather the information used. Byhaving access to the methodology we can evaluate any possible bias present in the report. Apossible bias could be the specific analysis of lithium battery impacts without considering otherpossible influences. References were provided and include other reliable sources such asgovernmental reports and news agencies such as Forbes. Additionally the recent publications datehelps to assess the current impacts and take into consideration the current necessity for batteries.Question 1, Article 4: -Environmental Protection Agency is a governmental human health and environmental protectionagency. The reviews and publications elaborated have the purpose to inform the public. Theirprocess includes internal review, data provider review and an independent review to guaranteereliable information to the public. Although the publication had more succinct and dynamicinformation, so more readers would read it, throughout it links were included if the reader feltmore in depth information on the topic was needed. The sources and references provided arereliable and include other governmental reports. Because there was the need of making it short,bias could have influenced the information when choosing which details would be included. Ibelieve the inclusion of sources and URLs throughout the publication helps diminish the possiblebias, however the chances of readers looking into the more detailed information provided is low.The recent publications date support the accuracy of the report because it takes into considerationthe increasing demand of battery production and usage in vehicles.Question 2, Article 1: -Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN) is a highly reputable source as it is a go-to for membersin the chemistry community. This source offered complete and insightful information on the
reasons for which recycling lithium-ion batteries must be researched, as demand for them increases rapidly. -Information was presented alongside quotes said by reputable individuals, used to support anyclaims, and numerical data was also provided as evidence for why recycling is important, thussuggesting accuracy in the information.-The article had no obvious bias as although they were suggesting that more research be put intorecycling methods, they also acknowledged that recycling is not always the most environmentallyfriendly option, as toxic chemicals can still be released in the process, while not alway being ableto recover 100% of all materials.-Our only concern regarding this article is the lack of citation to its sources. Although muchinformation and data was provided, the source of this data was not shared, therefore not allowingus to double-check the credibility of what was discussed in the article.Question 2, Article 2: -The Data Center Knowledge, being a reliable source, offers valuable information regarding howlithium-ion batteries are not as green as we may think that they are.-By incorporating quotes from reputable individuals in the industry, this source increases itsreliability by backing up its claims with other sources.-However, similar to that in article 1, this article does not provide any information regarding whereit gathered its data. As a result, this lowers the credibility of the source as we are not able toensure that the information provided is entirely accurate. Regardless, the information provided inthis article does coincide with that of article 1 as well as other articles we have read during datagathering, which means that there is indeed a basis to its claims.-Not only is this source complete in covering the basis of the main question it aims to answer, butit goes even deeper by discussing implications and further actions regarding the information thatthey presented.-There is no evident bias present in this article as the article is holistic in its approach of discussingthe information and provides some values of data to back up the information.Question 2, Article 3: -This article is from a division of the American Chemical Society, a well-known and reputablesource. Not only does it offer valuable insights into the topic of lithium battery recycling, but italso provides data to support their insights.-The data is taken from many different countries around the world, therefore increasing thegeneralizability of their findings.-This article offers clear and succinct visualizations that allow for a better understanding of theinformation that is being presented.-It does not appear to have any bias as it presents different arguments such as that recycling can begood for the environment, but it also has its own downfalls. Alongside such arguments, thissource takes its insights to the next level by suggesting implications of their findings.Implications such as that government policy makers can have a lot of say in recycling lithium-ionbatteries, especially since large use of such practice is heavily dependent on economic incentives.-Thus, this article is complete, and accurate, and is invaluable due to its simple visualizations thatwill be useful for this project.
Question 2, Article 4: -This article by Alsym Energy is considered to be a blog and although it is not the most reputablesource, it still provides an invaluable perspective to the harm that recycling can pose to theenvironment. It goes against what the mainstream articles discuss and is one of the few articlesthat we could find that describes how recycling is not the most glamorous solution for lithium-ionbattery waste. This is why we decided to use this article as one of our sources.-It must be noted, however, that the article is indeed slightly biased, as it makes suggestions as towhy their manufactured battery is a more sustainable option than lithium-ion batteries.Regardless, the article is written by a professor in engineering and Rensselaer PolytechnicInstitute, indicating that the author has credibility to be writing such an article.-Despite any biases, the article is complete and accurate as we have been able to read about therecycling process discussed in this article in other articles that we perused during our research.Thus indicating that there is some basis of reliability within this source.Data Categorization and Analysis: Question 1: 1.Datasets:a.MDPI article provided high quality information with the help of visualizations thatpresented reports of other data sources as well as original work. The recent publicationdate and considerations made on the specific chemicals/ materials present in batterywaste that could present a threat to the environment and human health representedrelevant information to answer our question. The data provided will also help us to createour own specific visualization of lithium-ion batteries.b.The Royal Society of Chemistry presented in depth on how battery chemicals and wastepathways impact our environment. The visualizations and recent publication date helpedus to easily access the data and understand the impacts taking into consideration thecurrent clean energy need. A challenge when accessing this report was identifying if thehazards came from interference of humans on the spent battery composition or if incontact with nature, it would react and impact it.c.The Environmental Protection Agency presented a detailed report on the topic andreached many aspects that surround lithium battery waste other than just the chemicalhazards and improper disposal impacts of battery waste. This detailed range of topicsimproved the quality of this report and opened new areas in the battery waste topic to beexplored. On the other hand, some additional time was needed to process this amount ofdetailed information and decide which ones would be added to our project infographic.Question 2: 1.Datasets:
a.The paper by CAS shared high-quality data in the form of visualizations that arerelevant for this project. It must be noted, however, that the data that was used forthese visualizations made inferred conclusions as a result of the number ofpublications, rather than the actual data presented in those publications. Forexample, one visualization reported an increase in the widespread use ofparticular recycling techniques. This increase was inferred on the basis that thenumber of publications regarding these techniques increased over the past coupleof years. Therefore, the data presented in these visualizations, although stilluseful, must be considered with caution as a result of this indirect use.b.Additionally, although we would have hoped to create our own visualization withthe data presented in the article, we are not able to do this because the paper didnot share the specific numbers. Only a visualization of the data was shared.c.We also considered this paper to be very high quality as it helped us to answer thequestion of “so what” to our project. This is because with our infographic, we aimto address government policy makers, and this paper addressed them directly aswell, allowing us to gain insight on how we may do the same.2.News Articles/Media:a.The Chemical & Engineering News source was reliable and pertinent for ourproject. It shared valuable information regarding the setback as to why lithium-ionbatteries are not always recycled. In addition, they make suggestions as to theareas in which recycling methods can be improved, offering insight into why suchmethods are currently harmful to the environment. This source is high-quality,complete, and it includes some visualizations that aid in understanding.b.The article by the Data Center Knowledge was insightful regarding the benefits oflithium ion batteries and why recycling is a better option than discarding batteriesinto landfills. Not only do they present data, but they also go further makingsuggestions as to how we can reduce the environmental impacts of lithium ionbatteries. Thus, this paper is high-quality, reliable, and greatly relevant to ourproject.c.The blog by Asylm Energy offered an opposing view as to why recycling is notalways the better option. It provided a different perspective than other articleshave by considering how the recycling process can also harm and damage theenvironment. This source, therefore, offers relevant information for our researchquestion.Reflection and Improvement: -The process of data gathering progressed fairly slowly at first. This is because we workedto first gain basic knowledge on the topic that we would use to guide our focus. Despite
the slow start, however, taking this time allowed us to go into further research being primed and knowing exactly what we were looking for, and knowing the particular jargon that such articles might use. The key words and phrases that we used were also quite good as they were specific enough so that we could find relevant information, but not too specific to the point that high-quality articles were difficult to find. -During the process, we faced challenges on accessing raw data for visualizations that wesaw, and so we looked through the references for those articles to see if we could find theraw data. For research question 1, this was effective, whereas for research question 2, wewere unable to access the raw data to make our own visualization.-Some alternative approaches to data gathering to note for the future would be that if wefound a good and relevant article, we could take a look at the references to see if there areany other good articles on the same topic that serve as a primary source of information.This primary source would enhance the gathered data much more than secondary sourceswould.Discussing Data Deficits: Question 1: -One limitation was the lack of specificity on the Royal Society Chemistry about whichchemicals in the battery contaminated soils and water or ignited fires; they provided anoverview on the components and chemicals in each part of the battery but could havebeen more specific about each chemical's possible effect. These can lead to a less specificchemical assessment on our project, generalization will be needed for most of the impactsof spent lithium-ion batteries.-Another limitation was finding opposite articles on the hazardous impacts of lithium-ionbatteries, which can lead to bias in our project. Not including the possible non-effects oflithium-ion batteries limitates the quality of our data.Question 2: -One limitation on our dataset from CAS is that the data presented in the visualizations onthe different recycling techniques are based on the number of publications regarding thattopic, rather than using data on the topic itself. It is likely that this paper found it easiestto gather data through how often such topics are discussed in papers, however, this meansthat there is a deficit in our knowledge of the true data. In other words, there is thelikelihood that the number of publications regarding a particular recycling method doesnot accurately represent how widespread that method is, which ultimately affects theconclusions that we can make.
Infographic Outline Title of the Infographic: The Chase Towards a Greener Battery Introduction: With the use and production of lithium ion batteries on the rise, we hope to address to government policy makers the impacts that such end-of-life batteries have on the environment. With this infographic, the main ideas will be presented in a way that the most important part of the lithium-ion battery is presented - as a lithium-ion cell. With one side being the anode and the other the cathode, with the two being separated by the electrolyte. The movement of lithium from cathode to anode, is synonymous to our movement from environmental damage to considering what a future with greener solutions would look like. While the only barrier between now and then is the effectiveness of current recycling strategies that are in place. Section Headings: 1)Hazards of end-of-life batteries2)Recycling Strategies3)Call to ActionGraphic Elements: 1)Stacked bar chart showing materials/ chemicals breakdown of common Lithium batteries.The material/chemistry breakdown will focus on one common type of lithium-ion battery,the Lithium Cobalt Oxide (LCO) battery. The stacked bar will have a shape thatresembles a battery. Each material/chemical will have colorblind friendly representationson the chart with dark blue, light blue and orange.2)When addressing the impacts of end-of-life batteries we will include types of facilitiesaffected by fires caused by Lithium-Ion Batteries. The visualization will help to showhow the improper discard of batteries (landfill as destination) is the most affected by firesstarted by Lithium-Ion batteries.
3)When magnifying the battery, there will be the main component that makes up a battery.This includes the anode, electrolyte and the cathode, together forming a large rectangle.a)In the anode (far left) we will address our first research question regarding thehazardous materials in lithium-ion batteries. In the electrolyte (center), we willaddress the strategies for recycling and whether it is more beneficial thanthrowing batteries in the landfill. And in the cathode (far right), we will address acall to action towards government policy makers.b)The color of the anode, electrolyte and cathode will transition from a lighter greenon the left towards and darker green on the right. This is because green isnormally the color associated with recycling, and in our infographic we arepushing towards a “greener” future in which these batteries cause less harm to theenvironment.c)We will not label each section as such, only because since we are directing thisinfographic to government policy makers that are aware of such batteries and theircomponents, we expect that they understand the lithium-ion cell and will be ableto notice the reference.4)Under the section that discusses recycling strategies, we will incorporate a line graph thatlooks at the increase in different recycling methods since 2010:5)A very general outline that we have planned for our infographic can be found in thesketch below. Of course, our final infographic will be made digitally, it will have colorand what’s included in the brackets are there only for current reference. But this sketchwill guide our infographic creation in the coming weeks.
Feedback Points: 1.Although our original plan is to not label the components of the lithium-ion cell (such as anode,electrolyte, and cathode), would we make a greater impact if we were to label them? Or would ittake away from the fact that it is meant to be a visual element, rather than an element that requiresan explicit description? In other words, would it be more appropriate to label so that we may beable to reach a greater audience than only government policy makers?2.Are our data visualizations appropriate for the data that we want to represent for this infographic?Or should we search for alternate ways to present the data?