Lithium-ion batteries have been industrially developed. More environmental risks come with them due to increased demand for clean energy, facilitated by these portable sources. An example is new research indicating that Lithium-ion batteries have toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” and are highly hazardous to humans and the surroundings. As the said industry grows bigger, the potential to create pollutant chemicals grows as well.
In a new, rigorous, peer-reviewed study, the risks of bis-FASI, a subgroup of PFAS, which is used in lithium-ion batteries, have now been pointed out. A team of researchers measured high levels of these chemicals in the environment adjacent to manufacturing plants but even found them in very remote regions worldwide. Batteries ending up in landfills are already a major contributor today, the study says.
Jennifer Guelfo, who was with Texas Tech University, a co-author of the paper, said the country faced the dual challenge of minimizing aquatic pollution and growing its use of clean and sustainable energy. She further said that it would include being able to include environmental risk assessments as a part of this infrastructure growth.
All these “forever chemicals” add up to some 16,000 human-made compounds within the PFAS class, well-known for being resistant to water, stains, and heat. Ever since PFAS were first invented, they have been strongly linked to severe health issues, including cancer, birth defects, liver disease, and thyroid disease. Public health advocates are more and more urging that alternatives to these poetic chemicals be used in clean energy technologies.
Very few standards exist for PFAS battery waste, and virtually all of that waste goes to municipal dumps, which may allow the leaching of the chemicals into waterways, where the PFAS may accumulate locally or move great distances. Such chemical classes were not commercialized until after available historical leachate samples, which showed no incidence of these chemicals, before the mid-1990s.
Only about 5% of lithium batteries are currently recycled despite having a high potential for reuse. If things do not improve dramatically toward better recycling of the batteries, by 2040, there could be up to 8 million metric tons of battery waste. Guelfo said more attention should be paid to this class of PFAS.
The study also looked at invertebrates and zebrafish, where bis-FASI was revealed to be toxic at low levels of exposure, similar to other hazardous PFAS compounds. Water, soil, and air samples were taken around a 3M plant in Minnesota and other large facilities. Scientists found worrying levels of the chemicals in all. The detection of these in snow suggests that chemicals of these types can so easily move through the atmosphere that they may be the reason for their detection in areas as remote as seawater in China.
One arm of the EPA does not consider bis-FASI a PFAS and does not require it to be monitored in US water. That limited definition has been derided by public health advocates. However, a new study, along with others before it, pegs bis-FASI as persistent, mobile, and toxic as most other PFAS.
A recipe for disaster is how Lee Ferguson, a Duke University researcher and co-author of the paper, described the classification of bis-FASI, coupled with the rapid expansion of clean energy storage.
Thirdly, lithium-ion battery recycling is subject to growing scrutiny. A research study reveals that the recycling of lithium-ion batteries results in increased water and air emissions unless the recycling capacity of plants improves considerably with time. Consequently, companies like Nissan and Ecobat Solutions UK Ltd are now participating in the process of recovering, refurbishing, and re-using end-of-life EV batteries.
Alan Low, EV Battery Circular Economy Manager at Nissan Energy Services, showed interest in the commercial chain for used batteries. According to him, with increased global efforts for the reduction of carbon emissions, Lithium-ion batteries are going out of stock, and their effective recycling has thus become of great importance.
Lithium-ion battery recycling helps in recovering some very important materials like lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese that can be further used while manufacturing the batteries. This also helps in reducing the dependency on extraction of raw materials and eventually reduces carbon emissions from the battery manufacturing process. However, this is a forever chemicals-emitting process of contamination through the manufacture, recycling, and disposal of the above batteries.
Ferguson added that bis-FASI is an emerging concern not only for manufacturing site neighbors but even for places where its disposal is carried out. Indeed, in North Carolina, bis-FASIs are even found to be leaching off from landfills through leachates, emphasizing the requirement of more in-depth of these compounds.
Nearly all Americans tested have PFAS in their blood, and minuscule doses have been associated with health problems. PFAS are internationally recognized as recalcitrant contaminants, and bis-FASIs are both mobile and toxic. This analysis shows patents for bis-FASI salts that are used by 3M, Solvay, and Arkema in lithium-ion batteries.
In 2023, Solvay agreed to pay $393 million to clean up New Jersey’s drinking water and soil contamination from its forever chemicals. This deal will allow it to continue to focus on cleaning the environment while manufacturing products that will be used in lithium-ion batteries and components for hybrid vehicles.
As these Texas Tech authors affirm, the clean energy industry is an under-the-radar, perhaps burgeoning, source of international release of PFAS. With its expansion, ensuring that such chemicals are managed with the best possible environmental controls becomes paramount.