ORIGINAL RESEARCH
The Electric Vehicles’ Recycling Process to Carbon
Neutrality Mission in China Tends to Be Negative:
Depending on the Technology Transition
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1
School of Management and Economics, Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research,
Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
2
Department of Energy and Environmental Materials, School of Materials Science & Engineering,
Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, China
3
College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China
4
Beijing Institute of Technology Chongqing Innovation Center, Chongqing, 401120, China
Submission date: 2022-09-13
Final revision date: 2022-10-26
Acceptance date: 2022-12-06
Online publication date: 2023-01-30
Publication date: 2023-03-14
Corresponding author
Yajuan Yu
Beijing Institute of Technology, China
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2023;32(2):1941-1948
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ABSTRACT
While electric vehicles are widely used, the number of waste lithium-ion batteries is increasing.
The recycling and reproduction of materials with high environmental load is the key to the sustainable
development of the electric vehicle power battery industry. This study conducted the life cycle
assessment of CO2, PM2.5, SO2 and NOx emissions in the recycling stage of electric vehicles in the
Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region of China. The relevant conclusions are: electric energy makes a great
contribution to pollutant emission. When taking 1 kg as functional unit, the emissions of SO2 and NOx
in the recovery process of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) power battery are lower than those of Lithium
nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) battery, while CO2 and PM2.5 are opposite. When taking 1 kWh
as the functional unit, NMC power battery has better recovery and emission reduction effect than LFP,
because it has higher mass and energy density. In particular, the recovery of active materials plays a
significant role in NMC battery emission reduction. For CO2, recycling does not bring better effects on
emission reduction. To achieve carbon neutrality, the recycling process must be optimized. However,
for PM2.5, SO2, and NOx, recycling can in turn help reduce emissions in the production process, and the
value is more obvious.