There is provided a process for treating particulate scrap material. The process includes emplacing the particulate scrap material and a reagent material within a calcining zone with effect that a reactive process is effected such that a calcined metal material product is obtained, and carbonylating a carbonylation precusor material with effect that a carbonylated product is obtained, wherein the carbonylation precursor material is derived from the calcined metal material product.

A method for recycling an electrical energy storage device includes exposing components of the electrical energy storage device to an acidic solution to form a recovery solution; performing plating in the presence of the recovery solution and a conductive substrate, metals of the recovery solution depositing on the conductive substrate; and oxidizing the metals deposited on the conductive substrate to form an electrode material.

A process for removal of aluminium and iron in the recycling of rechargeable batteries comprising providing a leachate from black mass, adding phosphoric acid (H.sub.3PO.sub.4) to said leachate and adjusting the pH to form iron phosphate (FePO.sub.4) and aluminium phosphate (AlPO.sub.4), precipitating and removing the formed FePO.sub.4 and AlPO.sub.4, and forming a filtrate for further recovery of cathode metals, mainly NMC-metals and lithium.

A method for recovering rare earth elements (REE) from a leach solution. The method includes determining the concentration of a first plurality of contaminates in the leach solution, adding a first amount of oxalic acid to the leach solution and allowing it to react for a first period of time to form a first precipitant and a first liquor, maintaining the pH of the first liquor between 1.5 and 3 by the addition of an alkali base, removing the first precipitant, adding a second amount of oxalic acid to the first liquor and allowing it to react for a second period of time to form a second precipitant and a second liquor, maintaining the pH of the second liquor between 1.5 and 3 by the addition of the alkali base, and removing the second precipitant.

The present invention describes systems and methods of a novel hydrometallurgical process to perform reductive-acid leaching and separation of constituent compounds from solid material generated from the electrodes of lithium-ion batteries, or other source material containing target high-value materials. The process method involves the initial reductive-acid leaching with sulfur dioxide and sulfuric acid of the source material which may be performed in a single or a multi-step embodiment. In a single-step embodiment, the reductive-acid leaching results in two outlet streams, a leachate solution and a bulk solid, such as graphite. In a two-step embodiment, a dilute reductive-acid leaching results in a lithium brine that may be bled as a product stream. The resulting liquor, or leachate, can be subjected to precipitation and oxidation steps to remove other compounds except, for example lithium, cobalt, and nickel. Electrowinning may then be used to separate and recover cobalt and nickel alloys among other high value compounds from a lithium brine.

Process for the recovery of transition metal from cathode active materials containing nickel and lithium, wherein said process comprises the steps of (a) treating a lithium containing transition metal oxide material with a leaching agent (preferably an acid selected from sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, methanesulfonic acid, oxalic acid and citric acid), (b) adjusting the pH value to 2.5 to 8, and (c) treating the solution obtained in step (b)with metallic nickel, cobalt or manganese or a combination of at least two of the foregoing.

Systems and methods using solar evaporation to preconcentrate lithium containing brines to at or near lithium saturation, followed by a separation processes to separate lithium from impurities. A separated impurity stream is recycled to a point in the evaporation sequence where conditions are favorable for their precipitation and removal or disposed in a separate evaporation pond or reinjected underground, while a lower impurity stream is transferred to one or more of the removal location, to a subsequent pond in the sequence, or to a lithium plant or concentration facility. Further concentration of lithium by evaporation can then take place because impurities are removed thus eliminating lithium losses due to co-precipitation and achieving significantly higher concentrations of lithium.

Systems and methods using solar evaporation to preconcentrate lithium containing brines to at or near lithium saturation, followed by a separation processes to separate lithium from impurities. A separated impurity stream is recycled to a point in the evaporation sequence where conditions are favorable for their precipitation and removal or disposed in a separate evaporation pond or reinjected underground, while a lower impurity stream is transferred to one or more of the removal location, to a subsequent pond in the sequence, or to a lithium plant or concentration facility. Further concentration of lithium by evaporation can then take place because impurities are removed thus eliminating lithium losses due to co-precipitation and achieving significantly higher concentrations of lithium.

A method for recovering at least cobalt of valuable metals, cobalt and nickel, from an acidic solution obtained by subjecting waste containing positive electrode materials for lithium ion secondary batteries to a wet process, the acidic solution comprising cobalt ions, nickel ions and impurities, the method including: a first extraction step for Co recovery, the first extraction step being for extracting cobalt ions by solvent extraction from the acidic solution and stripping the cobalt ions; and a second extraction step for Co recovery, the second extraction step being for extracting cobalt ions by solvent extraction from a stripped solution obtained in the first extraction step for Co recovery and stripping the cobalt ions, wherein the first extraction step for Co recovery includes: a solvent extraction process for extracting cobalt ions in the acidic solution into a solvent; a scrubbing process for scrubbing the solvent that has extracted the cobalt ions; and a stripping process for stripping the cobalt ions in the solvent after the scrubbing into a solution.

Cathode material from exhausted lithium ion batteries are dissolved in a solution for extracting the useful elements Co (cobalt), Ni (nickel), Al (Aluminum) and Mn (manganese) to produce active cathode materials for new batteries. The solution includes compounds of desirable materials such as cobalt, nickel, aluminum and manganese dissolved as compounds from the exhausted cathode material of spent cells. Depending on a desired proportion, or ratio, of the desired materials, raw materials are added to the solution to achieve the desired ratio of the commingled compounds for the recycled cathode material for new cells. The desired materials precipitate out of solution without extensive heating or separation of the desired materials into individual compounds or elements. The resulting active cathode material has the predetermined ratio for use in new cells, and avoids high heat typically required to separate the useful elements because the desired materials remain commingled in solution.