Regeneration of high-performance materials for electrochemical energy storage from assorted solid waste: A review

Competitive costs and eco-friendliness have prompted solid waste-based recycling to become a hot topic of sustainability for energy storage devices. The closed-loop model, which combines the efficient recovery of solid waste with the preparation of energy storage materials, is considered as a tremendous potential sustainable development strategy. However, large-scale issues including environmental hazards, valuable ingredients, quantity and distribution remain due to the complex nature of solid waste properties, resulting in delays in its industrial applications. This review provides a systematic overview of the regeneration of various solid wastes into energy storage materials from the point of view of processing techniques and value-varying approaches. First, a summary of the solid waste classification and disposal procedures is provided, and the pros and cons of the disposal procedures are analyzed considering the resources and the environment. Moreover, the reactivation process of the resource cycle is detailed according to the regeneration of different battery energy storage materials (lithium-ion battery, sodium-ion battery, lithium-sulfur battery, supercapacitor, fuel cell, etc.), including waste recycling and high-value material regenerated processes. In addition, a comprehensive evaluation of various types of energy storage batteries is carried out from the perspectives of economy, environment, technological difficulty, application status, and development potential, to provide a feasible reference for the future regeneration of suitable energy storage batteries. Finally, the main challenges of recycling solid wastes into energy storage materials are summarized as “two Highs and four Lows”.