Dataset of "A Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Disposal and Recycling Pathways for Spent Lithium-Ion Battery Electrolyte"

This paper describes a comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) of four end-of-life pathways for lithium-ion battery (LIB) electrolytes: incineration, chemical neutralization, vacuum pyrolysis, and distillation extraction. The study evaluates a functional unit of 100 liters of a LiPF₆ electrolyte and reveals a clear performance hierarchy based on the quality of the recovered products. Distillation extraction was the only method to yield a net environmental benefit, while incineration proved to be the most environmentally damaging option. The findings demonstrate that high-quality, closed-loop material recovery is fundamentally superior to downcycling and disposal, providing quantitative evidence to guide future policy and industry decisions toward non-destructive technologies.