Characterisation of fire-damaged batteries – implications for recycling

Ameer, Wafaa Abdul; Baker, Jenny; Deganello, Davide; Charles, Rhys G.; Dunlop, Tom

doi:10.1088/2977-3504/ae7b3b

Journal article 5 views

Characterisation of fire-damaged batteries – implications for recycling

Wafaa Abdul Ameer Al-shatty

, Jenny Baker, Davide Deganello

, Rhys G. Charles

, Tom Dunlop

Sustainability Science and Technology

Swansea University Authors: Davide Deganello , Rhys G. Charles , Tom Dunlop

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DOI (Published version): 10.1088/2977-3504/ae7b3b

Abstract

As lithium-ion battery demand grows, so do fire safety challenges. Despite this, research on fire-damaged batteries remains limited. This study explores the distribution of valuable metals (such as Ni, Mn, Co, Cu) in two types of waste derived from lithium-ion nickel-manganese-cobalt oxide batteries...

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Published in:	Sustainability Science and Technology
ISSN:	2977-3504
Published:	IOP Publishing 2026
Online Access:	Check full text
URI:	https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa72121

first_indexed	2026-06-19T09:33:32Z
last_indexed	2026-06-20T05:03:12Z
id	cronfa72121
recordtype	SURis
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spelling	2026-06-19T10:33:30.5025442 v2 72121 2026-06-19 Characterisation of fire-damaged batteries – implications for recycling ea38a0040bdfd3875506189e3629b32a 0000-0001-8341-4177 Davide Deganello Davide Deganello true false 1ff66fa61714afa2dd8bdae1769a5d21 0000-0003-1886-378X Rhys G. Charles Rhys G. Charles true true 809395460ab1e6b53a906b136d919c41 0000-0002-5851-8713 Tom Dunlop Tom Dunlop true false 2026-06-19 ACEM As lithium-ion battery demand grows, so do fire safety challenges. Despite this, research on fire-damaged batteries remains limited. This study explores the distribution of valuable metals (such as Ni, Mn, Co, Cu) in two types of waste derived from lithium-ion nickel-manganese-cobalt oxide batteries (NMC811): black mass (BM) and fire-damaged waste (FD). It emphasizes that cobalt, manganese, and nickel-rich NMC particles are predominantly found in smaller particle size fractions (<125 µm), where they can account for up to 85% of total metal content. Fire-damaged (FD) batteries show a similar, though less pronounced, trend. Evidence of structural degradation suggests that fire temperatures exceeded 500 °C; however, the presence of residual organic binders indicates that heat was unevenly distributed during the fire. FD batteries become friable and easily fragment into fine particles, which can hinder the effective separation of copper and aluminium current collectors, increasing their presence in processed material. The inclusion of FD batteries in standard BM processing introduces variability in output composition, potentially lowering the concentration of high-value NMC811 materials present. To maintain product quality and recycling output values, it is recommended that FD batteries are processed separately. Alternatively, particle size separation may allow for tailored outputs aligned with specific customer requirements. Journal Article Sustainability Science and Technology 0 IOP Publishing 2977-3504 Fire-damaged batteries, thermal XRD, End-of-life batteries, NMC811, Li-ion batteries 10 6 2026 2026-06-10 10.1088/2977-3504/ae7b3b COLLEGE NANME Aerospace Civil Electrical and Mechanical Engineering COLLEGE CODE ACEM Swansea University Another institution paid the OA fee We gratefully acknowledge funding from the EPSRC ECR Fellowship NoRESt EP/S03711X/1 (W-AS, JB) and TReFCo EP/W019167/1 (W-AS, RC, DD, JB). The authors would like to thank the access to characterisation equipment to Swansea University Advanced Imaging of Materials (AIM) facility, which was funded in part by the EPSRC (EP/M028267/1) and the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government (80708). 2026-06-19T10:33:30.5025442 2026-06-19T10:20:54.8630894 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Materials Science and Engineering Wafaa Abdul Ameer Al-shatty 0000-0002-3389-0199 1 Jenny Baker 2 Davide Deganello 0000-0001-8341-4177 3 Rhys G. Charles 0000-0003-1886-378X 4 Tom Dunlop 0000-0002-5851-8713 5
title	Characterisation of fire-damaged batteries – implications for recycling
spellingShingle	Characterisation of fire-damaged batteries – implications for recycling Davide Deganello Rhys G. Charles Tom Dunlop
title_short	Characterisation of fire-damaged batteries – implications for recycling
title_full	Characterisation of fire-damaged batteries – implications for recycling
title_fullStr	Characterisation of fire-damaged batteries – implications for recycling
title_full_unstemmed	Characterisation of fire-damaged batteries – implications for recycling
title_sort	Characterisation of fire-damaged batteries – implications for recycling
author_id_str_mv	ea38a0040bdfd3875506189e3629b32a 1ff66fa61714afa2dd8bdae1769a5d21 809395460ab1e6b53a906b136d919c41
author_id_fullname_str_mv	ea38a0040bdfd3875506189e3629b32a_*_Davide Deganello 1ff66fa61714afa2dd8bdae1769a5d21__Rhys G. Charles 809395460ab1e6b53a906b136d919c41_**_Tom Dunlop
author	Davide Deganello Rhys G. Charles Tom Dunlop
author2	Wafaa Abdul Ameer Al-shatty Jenny Baker Davide Deganello Rhys G. Charles Tom Dunlop
format	Journal article
container_title	Sustainability Science and Technology
container_volume	0
publishDate	2026
institution	Swansea University
issn	2977-3504
doi_str_mv	10.1088/2977-3504/ae7b3b
publisher	IOP Publishing
college_str	Faculty of Science and Engineering
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hierarchy_top_id	facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title	Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id	facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title	Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str	School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Materials Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Materials Science and Engineering
document_store_str	0
active_str	0
description	As lithium-ion battery demand grows, so do fire safety challenges. Despite this, research on fire-damaged batteries remains limited. This study explores the distribution of valuable metals (such as Ni, Mn, Co, Cu) in two types of waste derived from lithium-ion nickel-manganese-cobalt oxide batteries (NMC811): black mass (BM) and fire-damaged waste (FD). It emphasizes that cobalt, manganese, and nickel-rich NMC particles are predominantly found in smaller particle size fractions (<125 µm), where they can account for up to 85% of total metal content. Fire-damaged (FD) batteries show a similar, though less pronounced, trend. Evidence of structural degradation suggests that fire temperatures exceeded 500 °C; however, the presence of residual organic binders indicates that heat was unevenly distributed during the fire. FD batteries become friable and easily fragment into fine particles, which can hinder the effective separation of copper and aluminium current collectors, increasing their presence in processed material. The inclusion of FD batteries in standard BM processing introduces variability in output composition, potentially lowering the concentration of high-value NMC811 materials present. To maintain product quality and recycling output values, it is recommended that FD batteries are processed separately. Alternatively, particle size separation may allow for tailored outputs aligned with specific customer requirements.
published_date	2026-06-10T06:03:12Z
_version_	1868490910925324288
score	11.109323

Characterisation of fire-damaged batteries – implications for recycling

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