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Yes—researchers reported using a deep eutectic solvent made from choline chloride and ethylene glycol to leach lithium and cobalt from spent lithium-ion battery cathodes. The 2019 report described a laboratory-scale experiment, not a proven commercial recycling process or a safe method to try at home.
What solvent did the researchers use?
The solvent was a deep eutectic solvent (DES), a mixture of choline chloride and ethylene glycol. Chemistry World reported that the researchers tested it on more than one lithium-ion cathode chemistry. The target materials were in the cathode waste; the reported process was not a general-purpose treatment for every part or type of battery. Chemistry World’s 4 April 2019 report describes the study.
How did the reported recovery process work?
- Leach metals from cathode waste. The researchers added cathode material to the DES and heated it. The report gives an example condition of about 130 °C for roughly one hour; lithium and cobalt ions moved into the liquid.
- Separate remaining solids. Filtration could separate aluminum foil, binder and conductive carbon from the liquid, according to the report.
- Recover metals from solution. The study described two routes: use electric current to deposit metal ions, or add sodium carbonate to precipitate lithium and cobalt salts that can then be filtered.
These are reported laboratory steps, not a validated battery-recycling procedure for consumers. They involve heating chemicals and processing battery materials under controlled conditions.
What recovery figures were reported?
Chemistry World attributed two figures to the research team: more than 90% cobalt recovery, and about four out of five grams of solvent recovered per cycle. These are the team’s reported results as presented in the 2019 coverage, not independently verified measurements here. The solvent-recovery figure describes the amount recovered after a cycle; it does not establish how well the solvent performs over many repeated cycles.
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Researcher Babu Ganguli described the solvents as “very environmentally friendly” and said the team recovered more than 90% of the cobalt. He also called the method sustainable because the leftover solvent could be recycled after leaching and metal-ion recovery. Those are the researcher’s characterizations, not proof of lower overall environmental impact.
Is the process greener than conventional recycling?
The report presented DES leaching as an alternative to high-temperature pyrometallurgy and conventional acid-based hydrometallurgy. But the cited coverage does not provide a life-cycle assessment showing that this particular process has a lower total environmental impact. Heating demand, solvent degradation or dilution, separation steps, waste streams and the amount of solvent recovered all matter when assessing a recycling route.
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Mark Foreman, a materials chemist at Chalmers University of Technology, raised concerns in the report about whether heating battery waste with DES as a reducing agent could degrade the solvent. He also questioned solvent dilution and the downstream separation of transition metals. The report presents parts of his critique in indirect speech, so it should not be treated as a direct quotation.
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What is still unknown about scale-up?
The 2019 work was at laboratory scale. The report said pilot-scale economics and solvent recovery across cycles still required evaluation; it does not establish that the method operates economically or reliably in an industrial recycling line.
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A review published on 15 January 2026 discusses DES methods for recovering metals from decommissioned batteries, including regeneration, reported efficiencies, influential factors and limitations. Its broader review of the field does not establish industrial readiness for this specific 2019 method. The review in Chemical Engineering Science provides that wider context.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How does this differ from another green-solvent battery study?
A 2021 study used triethyl phosphate to dissolve PVDF binder and separate cobalt-containing cathode material from aluminum foil. That is a different separation task from the 2019 DES process, which focused on leaching lithium and cobalt from cathode material into solution.
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The distinction matters: separating a cathode coating from foil is not the same as extracting and recovering metals from the coating. The 2021 work is described in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. The cited studies do not provide a consistent head-to-head comparison of energy use, purity, selectivity, solvent recovery, waste or scale-up.
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