In a method for recovering an active metal of a lithium secondary battery, a preliminary cathode active material mixture is prepared from a cathode of a waste lithium secondary battery, the preliminary cathode active material mixture is fluidized through oxygen-containing gas within a fluidized bed reactor to form a cathode active material mixture, reductive gas is injected into the fluidized bed reactor to form a preliminary precursor mixture from the cathode active material mixture, and a lithium precursor is recovered from the preliminary precursor mixture.

A process for obtaining metallic lead from its compounds present in an end-of-life lead-acid battery through a direct solid-solid reaction with metallic zinc includes a) dry mixing of the mixture of lead compounds present in an end-of-life lead-acid battery with a metered quantity of metallic zinc powder; b) an addition to the mass, during mixing, of water and of an aqueous solution containing a substance capable of forming soluble zinc salts; c) a separation of the solid, essentially consisting of metallic lead, from the liquid phase in which the soluble zinc salt is present; and d) an electrolytic treatment of the resulting previously separated solution in order to recover metallic zinc suitable for reuse in the dry mixing treatment.

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.

An adsorbent composition comprising particles consisting of a core which is at least partially coated with an adsorbent material is disclosed. The core is selected so that it has at least one of: (i) wear resistance; (ii) resistance to corrosive conditions; (iii) at least one thermoplastic material; and (iv) a low porosity. A suitable core material is polystyrene. Adsorbent materials suitable for the coating include activated carbon and metal oxides such as silica and alumina. The adsorbent composition may be used for the adsorption of metals and metal ions in ore processing, for instance for the separation of precious metals such as gold.

In a first embodiment, a coal treatment process includes exposing a material comprising coal to ionic liquid(s) to form a first mixture, isolating a residue from the first mixture, forming a second mixture comprising the residue, and electrospinning the second mixture to form a carbon fiber precursor material. In a second embodiment, a coal treatment process includes exposing a material comprising coal to ionic liquid(s) to form a mixture comprising solids and a liquid fraction, separating and filtering the liquid fraction from the mixture, and isolating one or more compounds from the liquid fraction. In a third embodiment, a coal treatment process includes exposing a material comprising coal to ionic liquid(s) to form a first mixture comprising residues, exposing the first mixture to (a) an acid, (b) a solvent, or (c) both to form a second mixture, and isolating rare earth elements and rare earth element compounds.

In a method for recovering an active metal of a lithium secondary battery, a sulfuric acid solution is added to a lithium metal composite oxide so as to prepare a sulfated active material solution. A transition metal is extracted from the sulfated active material solution. A lithium precursor is recovered by adding a lithium extracting agent to the solution remaining after the transition metal has been extracted from the sulfated active material solution. In the method, the amount of impurities is reduced, and sulfuric acid and the neutralizing agent can be recycled so that a high-yield lithium precursor recovery is enabled.

Certain method embodiments are described and useful for recycling permanent magnet materials (e.g. permanent magnet alloys) and battery materials (e.g. battery electrode materials) to extract critical and/or valuable elements including REEs, Co and Ni. Method embodiments involve reacting such material with at least one of an ammonium salt and an iron (III) salt to achieve at least one of a liquid phase chemical reaction and a mechanochemical reaction.

A method for extracting a rare earth element from a rare earth-containing substance, the method comprising mixing the rare earth-containing substance with a protic ionic liquid, such as: ##STR00001##
wherein R.sup.1 is selected from hydrogen atom and hydrocarbon groups containing 1 to 6 carbon atoms; R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 are independently selected from hydrocarbon groups containing 1 to 12 carbon atoms; and X.sup.− is an anionic species; to produce a composition of the formula (RE)(amide).sub.yX.sub.z at least partially dissolved in the protic ionic liquid, wherein RE is at least one rare earth element having an atomic number selected from 39, 57-71, and 90-103; y is 2-6; z is a number that charge balances the total positive charge of RE; and the amide is the conjugate base of the cationic portion of the protic ionic liquid of Formula (1) and has the following formula: ##STR00002##

A method for the recovery of metals from a feed stream containing one or more value metals and lithium, the method comprising: subjecting the feed stream to a sulphuric acid leach to form a slurry comprising a pregnant leach solution of soluble metal salts and a solid residue; separating the pregnant leach solution and the solid residue; subjecting the pregnant leach solution to one or more separate solvent extraction steps, wherein each solvent extraction step recovers one or more value metals from the pregnant leach solution, the remaining pregnant leach solution comprising lithium; and recovery of lithium from the pregnant leach solution.

The present invention provides an additive for tin stripping, comprising 0.1 to 20 wt % of copper corrosion inhibitor and 0.1 to 20 wt % of nickel corrosion inhibitor; wherein said weight percentage is based on the total weight of said additive. The present additive can be used with nitric acid conventionally used for metal-stripping for not only reducing the usage of nitric acid but also improving the efficiency of tin stripping. The present invention also provides a method for Tin recycle and a reaction tank for metal recycle. Both of them are favorable for satisfying the needs of metal recycle (especially, tin recycle) in the field.