A novel and clean process for selective recovery of lithium from spent LiFePO4 cathode material by oxidative roasting-water leaching process

• A novel low-temperature oxidative roasting-water leaching process achieves 97.1% lithium recovery from spent LiFePO4 cathode material. • The process selectively separates lithium as water-soluble LiCl while iron is enriched as insoluble FePO4, simplifying downstream purification. • High-purity Li2CO3 can be produced from the leach solution by adding Na2CO3 after iron removal, demonstrating a scalable and clean recycling route. • The method offers an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical processes, reducing corrosive reagent use and harmful gas emissions.