Additionally, glycine is a natural buffer, keeping the solution at a neutral pH and making the process much safer than traditional acid-based recycling techniques. But here’s the real surprise ...

Glycine also keeps the solution at a neutral pH because it’s a “natural buffer,” which makes this whole procedure far safer than recycling processes that employ acid. Another benefit of using glycine ...

This breaks up the NCM layers, releasing the lithium, nickel, cobalt, and manganese ions they contain into the solution. In the second trick, these ions are "trapped" in complexes by the glycine.