Process information
| Key Data Set Information | |
| Location | XJ-CN |
| Reference year | 2020 |
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| Use advice for data set | When using this data for life cycle assessment, special attention should be given to the regional specificity of the data as the process is based on ore extraction from Xinjiang Province. Users must consider the technological applicability of the process such as the hydrometallurgical method used, and ensure that it aligns with other processes within the system boundary. Inclusion or exclusion of recycling activities should be noted as well, particularly if secondary materials (recycled cobalt) are considered within the scope of the assessment. |
| Technical purpose of product or process | This dataset represents the production of battery-grade cobalt sulfate, which is commonly used in the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries for various applications such as electric vehicles, portable electronics, and energy storage systems. The cobalt sulfate is produced through a hydrometallurgical process from nickel-copper-cobalt ore located in Xinjiang Province. |
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| General comment on data set | This study used the actual operation data in the ore mining and beneficiation stages of an enterprise in Xinjiang, which is a major source of cobalt in China. Data of the cobalt concentration stage came from the experiment. Data on refining used the annual operating data from a cobalt refinery in Southeastern China in 2019. This company is one of China’s five largest cobalt refineries. The technology selected in this study is hydrometallurgical refining, which is consistent with all the five projects. This technology has been mentioned in many papers as an international mainstream cobalt refining technology. The Chinese process-based life cycle inventory database provides secondary data support to ensure consistency with China’s status quo . Production data for several chemicals are not available (e.g., Z-200, O-ethyl potassium carbonodithioate, carboxymethyl cellulose, butyl xanthate, butylamine aerofloat, P204, and P507).China’s state quo (e.g., waste disposal, transportation, and energy) was used to adjust the European data to reduce the regionalized effect from Europe. |
| Copyright | No |
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| Technological representativeness | |
| Technology description including background system | The system boundary is described as all activities within the cobalt sulfate production process. “Cradle-to-gate” LCA research includes all relevant life cycle stages from ore mining to beneficiation, primary extraction, and refining processes. The selected mine site is a nickel–copper–cobalt mine with 0.04% cobalt content in Xinjiang Province, China. After cobalt ore was concentrated through the beneficiation process, the concentrate can reach a cobalt content level of 0.3%. The standard for cobalt concentrate (i.e., 9.69% cobalt content) can be achieved after screening three times with the flotation method. Cobalt concentrate will be made into various forms of refined cobalt products through the refining process. Cobalt refining adopts hydrometallurgy technology, which mainly contains ball milling, leaching, iron removal, P204 extraction, P507 extraction, back extraction, and evaporative crystallization processes. |
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Modelling and validation
Administrative information
Inputs and Outputs