The presence of polyvinyl fluoride (PVDF) in spent lithium-ion batteries (black mass) promotes agglomeration and encapsulation of recoverable valuable metals such as lithium, nickel, manganese and cobalt, thereby reducing metal extraction efficiency. This study investigates the effect of pre-treatment methods such as calcination and solvent based delamination on the hydrometallurgical leaching of valuable metals from NMC-based lithium-ion battery scrap. The leaching yield of metals from various pre-treatment methods were evaluated by using 2M H2SO4
with 3 %w/v H2O2, at a solid-to-liquid ratio of 1:20 maintained at 50 ºC for 1 hour. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) confirmed that the presence of PVDF and CMC binders in electrode mixture, while calcination in air at 600ºC (3h) resulted in complete binder removal. Solvent based delamination using cyclopentanone (CPO) and N-methyl pyrrolidone (NMP) were also evaluated at various temperature. NMP delamination at 40 ºC and CPO delamination at 100 ºC provided the highest metal recovery. In addition, calcination also increased the
metal leaching by exposing the oxide surface, while NMP treatment achieved the highest metal recovery at lower temperatures. Compare to other methods, CPO delamination offers a safer and more environmentally friendly alternative with reduced CO2 emission, however requires higher temperatures. Overall, both calcination and solvent based binder separation effectively improved the hydrometallurgical leaching, the metal-recovery is strongly depended on the treatment method and temperature.