Page 53 - Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program Proceedings 2017-18

School of Engineering
Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering

production biochar with beneficial properties. We aim to evaluate how different production factors i.e. pyrolysis holding
temperature and acid and base pretreatment influence biochar properties derived from the pyrolysis of defatted spent
coffee grounds.

Metal Extraction from E-Waste

Supervisor: LAM Leung Yuk Frank / CBE
Student: KIM Haeyoung / CBME Course: UROP1000, Summer

Lithium-ion batteries have become one of the most common type of rechargeable batteries after its inception in the late
20th century. In contrary to the fast growth of the Li-ion battery industry, the recycling industry has yet to be developed.
In China, out of 570 kilotons of all types of batteries being disposed, 35% consisted of secondary Li-ion batteries, in 2013.
Moreover, approximately 95% of spent Li-ion batteries worldwide are known to be landfilled instead of being landfilled.
A commercially viable recycling process is needed not only due to environmental concerns, but also to extract valuable
metals contained in Li-ion batteries. For instance, NMC batteries contain lithium, nickel, manganese and cobalt, which
are the active materials. Currently, the cost of mining is lower than that of recycling due to the lack of a commercialized
process, but the recycling industry is expected to rise as cost of cobalt and nickel has been increasing continually. In
early 2017, the cost of cobalt was USD35/kg, whereas the price increased to USD75/kg at the end of the year. This
report will focus on the review of the structure of different types of Li-ion batteries and a brief process of disassembly
mechanism to further develop an automated process that is safe and efficient. The batteries concerned are Lithium
Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (NMC), Lithium Cobalt Oxide (LCO) and Lithium Nickel Cobalt Aluminium Oxide (NCA).

Design and Synthesis of Novel Cathode Material for Lithium Sulfur Batteries (LSB)
Supervisor: LUO Zhengtang / CBE
Student: CHAN Chak Ming / SENG Course: UROP1100, Summer

This project is to demonstrate possibilities for recycled lithium ion batteries by using it as a power source for mini
transportation vehicles such as kick scooters. The idea is to design and construct a scooter that will be powered by
recycled lithium ion batteries. The prototype is not yet finished by the time of report writing and our battery pack design
is expected to deliver 24v and ah to a 24v 500w motor. The expected maximum speed would be 35 to 40 kph with a
driving distance of around 30 km. It is believed that the scooter can be a transport alternative for regions with less
convenient public transport facilities.

Supervisor: LUO Zhengtang / CBE
Student: LEE Hwanbin / CENG Course: UROP1000, Summer

Sulfur nanoparticle with Nitrogen and phosphorous doped reduced graphene oxide (SNP@N,P rGO) composites were
prepared by synthesizing the hollow-sphere structured Polyvinyl Pyrrolidone and mixing with N,P rGO. The expected
impacts of adding N, P rGO were improvement in electrochemical performance and well spread SNP on nanosheets of
N,P rGO. The effects of N,P rGO on microstructure of active cathode materials and electrochemical performance of coin
cell were investigated in this report. The improved results of SNP@N,P rGO are shown as specific capacity, cycling
performance and coulombic efficiency which are significantly related to the microstructure of active cathode materials
and sulfur loading. The sulfur composition of SNP was about 95%. The specific capacity of SNP is 240 mAhg-1 at rate of
0.2 C while the specific capacity of SNP@N,P rGO is about 540 at rate of 0.2 C. The improved specific capacity
emphasized addition of N,P rGO is critical to show the potential of commercialization of Lithium sulfur battery.

43