Direct recycling of spent lithium-ion batteries requires selective dissociation of the cathode coating on the aluminum current collectors while minimizing cross-contamination of the recovered fractions. In this study, a chelator-based deep eutectic solvent (ChelaDES) made of levulinyl hydroxamic acid, glyceric acid, and trimethyl (2-methoxyethyl) ammonium chloride was designed as a low-temperature solvent for the selective interfacial separation of LCO, LFP, and NCA cathodes. The method uses four complementary key performance indicators (KPIs) as interfacial separation performance measures: active material removal, mass removed per unit area, bare-Al exposure, and delamination severity score. LCO showed the fastest response, reaching 93.7% active-material removal and >99% bare-Al exposure at 90 °C for 60 min. NCA showed intermediate behavior, reaching approximately 92.5% removal and 82% bare-Al exposure, while LFP exhibited threshold-controlled delamination, reaching 90.8% removal but only 66% bare-Al exposure under the same conditions. Among the kinetic models tested, the PSO-Arrhenius model provided the best overall fit for process comparison, giving apparent activation energies of 25.5, 26.5, and 28.5 kJ·mol−1 for LCO, NCA, and LFP, respectively. A strong correlation was observed for all chemistries between the removed mass per area and bare-Al exposure, which proves to be a useful, rapid quantitative proxy of foil liberation. Further purification studies with SEM-EDXS, XPS, and TGA/DTG suggested that the recovered black mass contained minimal impurities with minimal Al/Cu carryover (<0.1 wt%) and that the aluminum foil remained largely intact. Process heatmaps define the chemistry-specific operating windows, demonstrating that selective interfacial weakening, not bulk dissolution, controls separation. The process, therefore, acts as an upstream selective delamination and purification step, producing cleaner recovered black mass while preserving the current collector.
Although autonomous functioning facilitates the deployment of robotic systems in operating domains that support limited to no human oversight, establishing correspondence between task requirements and a system’s autonomous performance is still an open challenge. Several techniques for characterizing operating domains and/or quantifying autonomy have been proposed over the last three decades, however, to our knowledge, these have no discernment of sub-mode features of variation of autonomy, and some are based on metrics that are susceptible to the Goodhart’s law. This paper introduces a capability-based quantitative autonomy assessment framework for fully autonomous systems. The formulation of the framework started by establishing robot task characteristics from which three autonomy metrics, namely an essential capability set, reliability, and responsiveness, were derived. The characteristics were founded on the realization that robots ultimately replace human skilled workers, from which a relationship between human job and robot task characteristics was established. Additionally, mathematical formulations relating metrics to autonomy are also presented. To emphasize the fact that autonomy is not just a question of existence, but also one of performance of a capability, the framework represents it as a two-part measure, of level and degree of autonomy. Usage of the framework has been demonstrated on two case studies, namely an autonomous vehicle at an on-road dynamic driving task and the DARPA Subterranean Challenge analysis. The framework provides not only a tool for quantifying autonomy and monitoring the integrity of systems, but also a regulatory interface and common language for autonomous systems’ developers and users.
Fluoride-rich phosphogypsum leachate is a challenging industrial wastewater because of its low pH, high ionic strength, and the presence of competing anions. In this study, lanthanum-modified activated alumina (La-AA) was prepared and evaluated as a selective adsorbent for the removal of fluoride from complex phosphate-industry wastewater. The results showed that La modification improved the adsorption performance of activated alumina, and the 10% La-AA sample exhibited the best fluoride removal behavior among the tested materials. Kinetic and thermodynamic analyses indicated that fluoride adsorption on La-AA was more favorable than on pristine activated alumina and proceeded spontaneously and endothermically under the tested conditions. In competitive adsorption tests, La-AA maintained better fluoride uptake than unmodified activated alumina in the presence of chloride, sulfate, and phosphate, demonstrating improved matrix tolerance. When applied to authentic phosphogypsum leachate, the optimized La-AA reduced fluoride concentration from 9.67 mg·L−1 to 0.58 mg·L−1, below the WHO guideline value. These results suggest that La modification is a practical strategy to improve the selectivity and applicability of activated alumina for fluoride removal in complex industrial process water.
This paper presents a review of studies devoted to the synthesis, characterization, structure, properties, and functionality of grafted silica/polyacrylamide “core-corona” hybrids as effective nanoreactors and silver nanoparticle (AgNP) carriers for modern nanotechnologies. The evidence and features of direct low-temperature radical polymerization of acrylamide from the unmodified surface of SiO2 nanoparticles are considered in the context of the manifestation of dynamic matrix effects. A simple and reliable method for determining the number and length of grafted PAAm chains is indicated. Using a number of hybrid samples, the effect of these parameters on the particle size, surface charge, height, and permeability of the PAAm “corona” is demonstrated. A two-level fractal structure of hybrids in the bulk state and two morphological forms of their particles in aqueous solutions are established. Based on the proposed approach, the kinetics, mechanism of in situ synthesis, and the yield of AgNPs in hybrid solutions are characterized depending on the concentration of reagents and the “corona” structure. Considerable attention is paid to the possible application of AgNP/hybrid nanocomposites in promising nanotechnologies: in the production of biocidal hygienic materials and textiles, in wound healing, agriculture, fish farming and poultry farming, as well as anti-cancer agents.
