Mixed Toxicity Assessment of Waste-Battery - Derived Metals (Li, Ni, Co) in Daphnia magna
The potential release of toxic metals such as Li, Ni, and Co into aquatic environments is increasing due to the growth of the lithium-ion battery (LIB) industry and the expansion of recycling processes. In this study, the 24-h acute toxicity of Li, Ni, and Co was evaluated in both single-metal exposures and binary mixture using Daphnia magna. Single-metal toxicity showed the highest toxicity for Co, followed by Li and Ni. Mixture toxicity results indicated antagonistic interactions in the Li-Ni and Li-Co combinations, whereas a strong toxicity enhancement was observed for the Ni-Co combination. Nonlinear interaction patterns dependent on fixed concentrations and concentration ratios were also identified. These findings highlight the limitations of simple additivity assumptions and provide fundamental data for mixture-based ecological risk assessment related to LIB recycling activities.