Ming Chi University Master's Student Successfully Completes Thesis Defense

On January 6, 2025, a master's thesis defense was held at the Teaching Building of Ming Chi University. The presentation was delivered by Huynh Tri, a second-year master's student in the Department of Biochemical Engineering (Student ID: M11138253). The thesis was titled: "Selective Leaching Of Lithium From Spent LiFePO₄ Batteries Using Bioleaching Agent." The research was supervised by Professor Chia-Hung Su.

Research Background and Purpose

With the development of science and technology, the large-scale production of discarded lithium batteries has caused serious impacts on the environment and wasted precious metal resources. Therefore, how to effectively recycle metals from discarded lithium batteries has become an important issue. Huynh Tri's research aims to explore an economical, practical and environmentally friendly technology to extract lithium metal from discarded LiFePO₄ batteries by using bioleaching agent.

Research Results

The study found that bioleaching agent, as a leaching agent, can achieve selective leaching of lithium under optimized conditions such as solid-to-liquid ratio, time, hydrogen peroxide concentration and bioleaching agent concentration. At the same time, the study also explored the behavior of other co-existing metals in waste batteries (such as aluminum, phosphorus and iron). The experiments showed that after leaching, FePO₄ and aluminum existed as solid residues, which could be easily separated by filtration.

Research Significance

This technology is not only economical and practical, but also helps reduce environmental pollution and has important application value in the recycling of metal resources from discarded lithium batteries.

The successful completion of this thesis defense, under the guidance of Professor Chia-Hung Su, highlights Huynh Tri's innovative capabilities and research potential in the field of biochemical engineering.