The present disclosure concerns an apparatus suitable for smelting and separating metals in flexible oxido-reduction conditions. More particularly, it concerns an apparatus for smelting metallurgical charges comprising a bath furnace susceptible to contain a molten charge up to a determined level, characterized in that the furnace is equipped with: at least one non-transfer plasma torch for the generation of first hot gases; at least one oxygas burner for the generation of second hot gasses; and, submerged injectors for injecting said first and second hot gases below said determined level.

A method for the energy efficient production of metals and alloys by carbothermic reduction of minerals and ores in electric reduction reactors is disclosed. The method includes conveying a wood containing material to at least one pyrolysis step for producing charcoal; conveying the produced charcoal, possibly other carbon-containing reduction materials and metal containing raw materials to the at least one reactor for producing metal or alloy; conveying off-gas from the at least one pyrolysis step and off-gas from the at least one reactor to at least one energy recovery step.

A method for the energy efficient production of metals and alloys by carbothermic reduction of minerals and ores in electric reduction reactors is disclosed. The method includes conveying a wood containing material to at least one pyrolysis step for producing charcoal; conveying the produced charcoal, possibly other carbon-containing reduction materials and metal containing raw materials to the at least one reactor for producing metal or alloy; conveying off-gas from the at least one pyrolysis step and off-gas from the at least one reactor to at least one energy recovery step.

The invention concerns a process for the separation of cobalt from lithium present in a charge comprising lithium-ion batteries or related products, comprising the steps of: smelting the charge using a bath furnace equipped with a submerged air-fed plasma torch for injecting plasma gas into the melt; defining and maintaining a bath redox potential where cobalt is reduced to the metallic state and reporting to an alloy phase, and whereby lithium is oxidized as Li.sub.2O and reporting to the slag phase; decanting and separating the phases. It is characterized in that the reduction and oxidizing steps are performed simultaneously. A suitably low cobalt concentration is obtained in the slag.

The present disclosure provides for a method of obtaining metals from a source, including contacting the source with an ionic liquid in the absence of acid, thereby extracting the metals from the source and providing an ionic liquid extraction composition; and recovering the metals from the ionic liquid extraction composition, wherein the source includes coal, coal by-products, ore, tar, or electronic waste. Further, the present disclosure provides for a carbon material made by a process that includes contacting a source with an ionic liquid in the absence of acid, thereby extracting metals from the source and providing an ionic liquid extraction composition; and recovering the metals from the ionic liquid extraction composition, wherein the source includes coal, coal by-products, ore, tar, or electronic waste, further wherein the carbon material includes solids, liquids, carbon films, carbon fibers, carbon nanomaterials, or any combination thereof.

The present disclosure provides for a method of obtaining metals from a source, including contacting the source with an ionic liquid in the absence of acid, thereby extracting the metals from the source and providing an ionic liquid extraction composition; and recovering the metals from the ionic liquid extraction composition, wherein the source includes coal, coal by-products, ore, tar, or electronic waste. Further, the present disclosure provides for a carbon material made by a process that includes contacting a source with an ionic liquid in the absence of acid, thereby extracting metals from the source and providing an ionic liquid extraction composition; and recovering the metals from the ionic liquid extraction composition, wherein the source includes coal, coal by-products, ore, tar, or electronic waste, further wherein the carbon material includes solids, liquids, carbon films, carbon fibers, carbon nanomaterials, or any combination thereof.

Provided is a method for increasing the rate of recovery of valuable metals when waste batteries batteries are treated by a dry process. The valuable metal recovery method in the dry step S20 includes a melting step ST21 including melting waste batteries to form a melt, a slag separation step ST22 including separating slag from the melt, and an alloy separation step ST23 including separating an alloy of valuable metals from the melt, wherein the slag has an aluminium oxide content of 20% by weight to less than 75% by weight and an iron content of 5% by weight to 40% by weight, calculated as metallic iron, and silicon oxide and calcium oxide are added as fluxes in the melting step ST21 so that the slag can have a melting point of at least 1,500 C., preferably at most 1,650 C.

Provided is a method for increasing the rate of recovery of valuable metals when waste batteries batteries are treated by a dry process. The valuable metal recovery method in the dry step S20 includes a melting step ST21 including melting waste batteries to form a melt, a slag separation step ST22 including separating slag from the melt, and an alloy separation step ST23 including separating an alloy of valuable metals from the melt, wherein the slag has an aluminium oxide content of 20% by weight to less than 75% by weight and an iron content of 5% by weight to 40% by weight, calculated as metallic iron, and silicon oxide and calcium oxide are added as fluxes in the melting step ST21 so that the slag can have a melting point of at least 1,500 C., preferably at most 1,650 C.

The invention relates to a process for selectively and continuously extracting a series of desired species from a matrix, comprising the steps of:injecting a plasma (310) in an extraction chamber by means of a plasma torch,continuously monitoring (320) the excited elements extracted from the matrix and contained in the plasma by optical emission spectroscopy, and for each species of the series,setting a distance (330) between the support and the plasma torch, and the composition of the injected plasma as a function of the monitored excited elements so that only one desired species of the series of species is being extracted from the matrix under molecular form, andproviding (400) a plate in the extraction chamber, exterior to the plasma, causing collection of molecules comprising said desired species by deposition onto the surface of the plate.

A method of dissolution of minerals in acid is disclosed. The method comprises providing minerals to be leached in an aqueous solution, supplying acid or an acid precursor to the aqueous solution, thereby forming a reaction mixture comprising acid; supplying energy in the form of a combination of high-voltage electric pulses and ultrasound pulses to the reaction mixture to enhance dissolution of the minerals.