Use of certain metals recovered from mobile phone and computer batteries in enamel fritts

Frit is an intermediate product with glass structure. The glassy structures formed by melting raw materials such as cobalt, lithium, manganese, nickel, iron and copper at high temperature after the recipe is prepared and weighed in certain proportions are called frit. If the melted frit is poured into cold water, it is called bead frit, and if it passes between cold cylinders and sudden shocking is performed, it is called flake frit. Enamel is formed by mixing these frits with each other in different ratios. The main raw material that gives enamel its properties is frit. Enamels are powder and wet coating materials of borosilicate structure containing oxides of elements such as Na, K, Ba, Li, Ca, Mg, where oxides of elements such as Na, K, Ba, Li, Ca, Mg are preferred, and oxides of elements such as Al, Ti, Zr, F according to the feature expected from the enamel. Enamel is formed by grinding the formed frits to certain sizes in mills with different additives. The formed enamels are baked at temperatures and times determined according to the appropriate methods and spread on the surfaces. Enamel types according to the desired properties; primer coat enamel, citric acid resistant enamel, ETC direct enamel, steam resistant pyrolytic enamel, taransparent enamel, catalytic enamel, hot water resistant enamel, grill and burner cover enamel, self-colored second coat enamels. The grinding process plays an important role in this process. The weight of the frit to be loaded into the mill is also important for grinding fineness in the same time. If the amount of frit is high, the grinding time of the mill increases, but if the amount of frit loaded into the mill is low, the balls will wear out due to the friction of the balls inside the mill, which is not desirable. Enameled products have a wide range of applications such as kitchen utensils, cookers, ovens, baking trays, white goods, stoves, bathtubs, chemical industry. The reason why it is used so widely is its positive features such as hygienic, vapor resistance, acid resistance, resistance to moisture and chemicals and heat, ease of cleaning, having a hard surface against scratches and abrasion, creating a surface that does not smell and taste, and providing an aesthetic appearance. Enamels can be applied both as electrostatic powder and wet. The fact that the life of the materials is exhausted shows that they are in a waste state. The general problem that occurs today is caused by these wastes. The increase in the amount of waste also creates a waste economy today. The amount of waste in the world has increased significantly. At a time when waste has reached serious dimensions, the problem of waste batteries has become an important problem of the world. Lithium ion batteries are a type of battery in which lithium ions are stored by moving through the battery. When the battery is charged, the lithium ions move from negative to positive and vice versa when the battery is discharged. The advantages of using lithium ion batteries are high energy density, fast charging and long life. The disadvantages are that extreme temperatures can reduce the working capacity of lithium-ion batteries and pose safety risks. Another disadvantage is that their cost is higher than other battery types. In this study, the extent to which secondary raw materials obtained from end-of-life cell phone and computer batteries through recycling can be utilized in enamel frit recipes widely used in the enamel industry was investigated. The study aims to reprocess waste into a value-added product in line with the principles of both sustainability and economic efficiency. The chemical composition of the powdery material obtained as a result of the recycling process was determined by detailed analysis; then, in line with this data, it was included in the recipes by proportioning it in a way that it can be used in enamel production. Thus, it is aimed both to obtain an alternative resource with the potential to reduce production costs and to utilize waste batteries that may be harmful to the environment in a beneficial way. Some strategic metal oxides that are often included in enamel frit recipes, notably nickel oxide (NiO), cobalt oxide (CoO), manganese oxide (MnO) and lithium oxide (Li₂O), are traditionally available from the market as pure compounds at high costs. These substances are also naturally occurring and recoverable key components in lithium-ion batteries. In this context, thanks to the approach evaluated within the scope of the study, integrating these metal oxides directly obtained from the content of lithium batteries into production through recycling offers significant cost advantages compared to conventional methods. The recycling of scrapped cell phone and computer batteries starts with the battery discharge process. This process is very important in terms of safety, as there is a risk that batteries that still contain voltage may explode when left under the sun or broken in the process. The batteries, whose voltage value is reduced below 1Volt with saline solution, are crushed into pieces and pulverized by passing through a crusher. The powdered material is sieved to remove the coarse materials in its content and calcined at different temperatures to remove organic substances. The powdered material formed as a result of calcination is instrumentally analyzed by XRF, XRD, SEM and AAS devices to determine its chemical analysis and phases. According to the analysis results, the usability of this new raw material in cobalt enamel frits was investigated. Currently produced ETC and citric acid resistant black enamel frits contain all of the cobalt, nickel, lithium and manganese oxides that are likely to be present in the battery. These metal oxides are contained in the enamel frit content formed by weighing and melting cobalt oxide, nickel oxide, lithium carbonate and manganese carbonate raw materials in the enamel frit recipe. By calculating these metal oxides in the oxidic composition of the enamel frit according to the content of the batteries, the maximum amount of this raw material recycled from the battery was observed. According to the analysis of the raw material obtained by recycling; in the computer battery, the amount of CoO is 69.989%, the amount of NiO is 0.505%, the amount of MnO is 0.224% and the amount of Li2O is 19.16%. In cell phone battery; CoO content is 58.480%, NiO content is 0.899%, MnO content is 0.770% and Li2O content is 18.61%. According to these analysis results, the recipes of ETC Black frit and acid resistant black frit were calculated and melted. As a result of the melting, the plate surface appearance, color, adhesion, fluidity, citric acid test, ETC tests were performed and compared with the standards of the same frits. The positive results showed that waste cell phone and computer batteries can be used in ETC and acid resistant black frits. When we compared this raw material with standard raw materials with the same proportions, it was observed that there was an average cost difference of five times. On the other hand, when compared to frits made using standard raw materials, it was observed that it provided 15 - 20% cost benefit. In line with all these results, it has been proven that the powder material recycled from waste cell phone and computer batteries can be used both technically and economically, especially in black enamel frit production. This approach not only enables the utilization of alternative and domestic raw material resources in the industry, but also directly serves the concept of sustainable production by contributing to the reduction of environmental waste burden.