Pomegranate peel as an Ecofriendly Reductant for Efficient Recovery of Cathode Materials from Spent Lithium ion Batteries through Organic Acid Leaching

Pomegranate peel as an Ecofriendly Reductant for Efficient Recovery of Cathode Materials from Spent Lithium ion Batteries through Organic Acid Leaching | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Pomegranate peel as an Ecofriendly Reductant for Efficient Recovery of Cathode Materials from Spent Lithium ion Batteries through Organic Acid Leaching Saeid Karimi, Mojtaba Kazazi, Pedram Ashtari This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5776294/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 03 Jul, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted 8 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Nowadays, the recycling of valuable metals from spent lithium-ion batteries (LIB) using hydrometallurgical processes is on the rise. Therefore, using safer leaching media for the dissolution and environmentally friendly chemicals are essential. In this research, a feasibility study of the recovery of valuable metals, including lithium, cobalt, manganese, and nickel, from the cathode of spent LIB in acidic conditions using pomegranate peel (PP) as a green reductant was evaluated. To optimize the dissolution process, the effects of various parameters, such as CH 3 COOH concentration, temperature, time, and the PP/LIB, were investigated using response surface methodology (RSM) experimental design. Based on ANOVA, linear models were obtained for Co, Mn, and Li recovery, except for the Ni recovery model. According to the results, temperature was identified as the most crucial factor in the recovery of Ni, Co, Mn, and Li, due to the facile hydrolysis of PP at elevated temperatures. Based on the optimization results for leaching cathodes of LIB in the presence of PP, the predicted recovery values for Ni, Co, Mn, and Li at the optimum point of 320 min, 5.5 M CH 3 COOH concentration, 92°C temperature, and PP/LIB of 3.5 g/g were 83.3, 85.9, 84.9, and 91.2%, respectively, which showed good agreement with the calculated results from the experimental recovery. FTIR characterization of leaching samples in the presence and absence of PP indicated that glucose molecules produced during dissolution were immediately consumed by LIB compounds. Furthermore, the leaching kinetics study of LIB cathodes in the presence of PP demonstrated that the dissolution mechanisms of Ni, Co, Mn, and Li followed the Avrami model. Physical sciences/Chemistry/Chemical engineering Physical sciences/Engineering/Chemical engineering Recycling spent Li-ion batteries (LIB) Pomegranate peel Reductive leaching Kinetics evaluation Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files Supportinginformation.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 03 Jul, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Accepted 26 May, 2025 Reviews received at journal 29 Apr, 2025 Reviews received at journal 29 Apr, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 22 Apr, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 22 Apr, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 22 Apr, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 10 Apr, 2025 First submitted to journal 29 Mar, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5776294","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":446651531,"identity":"c0d20771-3102-4243-a3bf-28c05127a5af","order_by":0,"name":"Saeid Karimi","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAw0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFACNiA2YODhl0DiE6dFcgYDYwMJWkC6bkC1EATyDWyJnysKtskY3+4xf8BQY8fAJ30AvxaDA2yHJc8Y3OYxu3PGsIHhWDIDG18CAS0M7A2SDSAtN3KAWtgOMLDxEHQYe/NPkBbjGSAt/4jQwnCA7RjYFgMJoBbGNiK0GBxmS7MEaZG4kVY4I7EvmYeww9rbjG82/Lltzz8jecOHD9/s5OR7CDmMGZmTwMBA0CejYBSMglEwCogAAGaSOAh0C961AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Hamedan University of Technology","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Saeid","middleName":"","lastName":"Karimi","suffix":""},{"id":446651532,"identity":"832e3e2f-3bb6-4189-81e5-9f046174e3db","order_by":1,"name":"Mojtaba Kazazi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Hamedan University of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mojtaba","middleName":"","lastName":"Kazazi","suffix":""},{"id":446651533,"identity":"d3249db6-d128-4626-b009-f8ecba65b9f3","order_by":2,"name":"Pedram Ashtari","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Hamedan University of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Pedram","middleName":"","lastName":"Ashtari","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-01-06 20:23:10","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5776294/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5776294/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-04351-3","type":"published","date":"2025-07-03T15:58:54+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":86179684,"identity":"dce568ea-7ef8-4aec-ac5c-787497a92049","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-07-07 16:18:21","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1932628,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5776294/v1_covered_a20b2bed-9618-4b0b-a89b-cc9c0f2b076a.pdf"},{"id":81325844,"identity":"9488670b-51fe-4c6d-8bfa-3013b9f6e882","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-04-24 19:13:45","extension":"docx","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":914388,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Supportinginformation.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5776294/v1/b539a1a220df8dba211173b3.docx"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Pomegranate peel as an Ecofriendly Reductant for Efficient Recovery of Cathode Materials from Spent Lithium ion Batteries through Organic Acid Leaching","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Recycling, spent Li-ion batteries (LIB), Pomegranate peel, Reductive leaching, Kinetics evaluation","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5776294/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5776294/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eNowadays, the recycling of valuable metals from spent lithium-ion batteries (LIB) using hydrometallurgical processes is on the rise. 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