A method of the invention for treatment of particulate material for metal recovery includes heating a furnace to a first temperature, feeding a particulate material into the furnace, and before or after heating of the raw material, feeding a reducing gas flow through the furnace. The particulate material is heated in the furnace for volatilizing one or more metals contained in the ash into the gas flow, and the volatilized particles are recovered in one or more collection units. A system for treatment of particulate material for metal recovery includes a heated furnace for receiving flows of reduction gas and particulate material, a collection unit for volatilized particles, and a collection unit for non-volatilized material.

This invention provides a membrane electrode material and its preparation method, as well as the application of the material into lithium extraction by adsorption-electrochemical coupling method. The membrane electrode material is described as MnO@C. The preparation steps are as follows: LiMn.sub.2O.sub.4 is firstly obtained by calcining lithium carbonate and manganese carbonate, which is then dispersed in hydrochloric acid solution. After stirring and separating, the solid products are dried to obtain λ-MnO.sub.2. The λMnO.sub.2 is added to the raw material of Mn-MOF-74, and then the Mn-MOF-74 coated λ-MnO.sub.2 can be obtained by hydrothermal reaction. By further calcining Mn-MOF-74 coated λ-MnO.sub.2 in nitrogen atmosphere, the membrane capacitor/electrode material can be obtained as MnO@C. The material is fabricated into an adsorption film electrode plate and assembled into an adsorption-electrochemical coupling lithium extraction device. The pure lithium solution can be obtained in the recovery pool through the combined lithium extraction and lithium recovery process. In this invention, the thickness of the carbon coating layer in the electrode material is adjustable. Adsorption-electrochemical coupling technology takes the advantages of both adsorption and electrochemical lithium intercalation, which can extract and recover lithium resources with high capacity. Thus, this invention not only achieves high-efficiency separation of lithium resources, but also opens up a new way for the extraction of lithium resources.

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.

A plant for recovering metals and/or metal oxides from industrial process waste, in particular oil product refining waste, comprises a furnace; a feed line connected to a main inlet of the furnace and configured to feed the furnace with a solid waste containing metals, in particular in oxide form; an outlet line, connected to a solid phase outlet of the furnace and configured to draw a metal-enriched solid phase out of the furnace; the furnace is a belt conveyor furnace having a belt conveyor closed in a loop with a substantially horizontal configuration and having a top face, which receives the waste to treat and conveys it between two longitudinal opposite ends of the belt conveyor furnace respectively provided with the main inlet and the solid phase outlet.

A method of pretreatment and bromine recovery of PCB Incineration ash is disclosed that relates to the field of comprehensive recovery of valuable metals by full wet method, especially relates to a method of valuable metals and bromine recovery, precious metals enrichment in pretreatment process of PCB Incineration ash. The major steps includes alkali leaching, Cu extraction back-extraction, neutralization-precipitation to separate, Bromine evaporative crystallization, regeneration, acid pickling, Zn evaporative crystallization, removal of Zn and Cu. Compared with the traditional comprehensive recovery process of ash, the invention can separate bromine from ash and recover valuable metals such as copper, zinc and lead with the maximum extent, at the same time, the enrichment of silver and other precious metals is beneficial to the subsequent recovery of precious metals. It has high added recovery value and no tailless discharge.

There is a process for the selective recovery of transition metals from an organic stream containing transition metals. The organic stream and possibly a first extractor if solid, are melted up to the liquid state. The extractor consists of an ionic liquid or a mixture of two or more ionic liquids and the ionic liquid contains an ammonium salt as cation and as anion an anion with chelating properties. A melted organic stream and a first extractor, optionally melted, are fed to a first liquid-liquid extraction unit working at a temperature of at least 150° C. where the liquid-liquid extraction is carried out obtaining a liquid mixture containing an ionic liquid, or a mixture of two or more ionic liquids, and metals. After extraction, the liquid mixture is cooled at a temperature between 0° C. and 70° C. and becomes biphasic; then the cooled mixture is sent to a first separation unit, to separate a liquid phase that contains ionic liquids and metals, and a metal-depleted solid phase. After the first separation, the separated metal-depleted solid phase is optionally sent to a washing unit to which a solvent is fed, so as to eliminate the residual ionic liquid by transferring it into the solvent and obtaining a metal-depleted solid phase. Then the separate liquid phase containing ionic liquids and metals is sent into a liquid-liquid precipitation and separation unit, adding a counter-solvent, thereby obtaining a solid phase containing the metals and a liquid stream containing counter-solvent and ionic liquids.

Novel methods of recovering neodymium and related rare earth elements from permanent magnets of various compositions are described. The methods employ processing steps including converting the magnet material to a higher surface area form such as a powder, treating the mixture with alkaline solutions to form product concentrated in neodymium and rare earth metals. Inexpensive materials such as ammonia, ammonium carbonate, carbon dioxide, water are recycled in a process that uses moderate temperatures, pressures and non-corrosive and environmentally-friendly chemicals.

A method for recycling anode materials from a comingled recycling stream derived from exhausted Li ion batteries includes receiving a precipitate quantity remaining from a cathode recycling stream. This precipitate is almost exclusively graphite used for the anode material in the recycled batteries. The precipitate results from an acid leach of charge material from the lithium battery recycling stream. A strong acid is added to the precipitate for removal of residual cathode and separator materials and the mixture heated. The strong acid removes residual aluminum oxide from the separator by transformation to aluminum sulfate. Washing the acid treated precipitate removes water soluble contaminants, such as the aluminum sulfate reacted from the aluminum oxide and sulfuric acid, to generate substantially pure graphite. Any residual material remaining from the cathode recycling phase is also removed.

A method for the treatment of sludge containing iron, the method including a leaching step wherein the sludge containing iron is mixed with an acid and an oxidation agent so as to create an oxidized leachate, and a step of precipitation of iron wherein the oxidized leachate is mixed with a neutralizing agent so as to create a mixture composed of a solid part including precipitated iron and of a liquid part, the neutralizing agent including at least 30% in weight of dust recovered from a bag filter treatment of ironmaking, steelmaking, coke making or sintering gas.

It is provided a process for recycling lithium ion batteries comprising shredding the lithium-ion batteries and immersing residues in an organic solvent; feeding the shredded batteries residues in a dryer producing a gaseous organic phase and dried batteries residues; feeding the dried batteries residues to a magnetic separator removing magnetic particles; grinding the non-magnetic batteries residues; mixing the fine particles and an acid producing a metal oxides slurry and leaching said metal oxides slurry; filtering the leachate removing the non-leachable metals; feeding the leachate into a sulfide precipitation tank; neutralizing the leachate; mixing the leachate with an organic extraction solvent; separating cobalt and manganese from the leachate using solvent extraction and electrolysis; crystallizing sodium sulfate from the aqueous phase; adding sodium carbonate to the liquor and heating up the sodium carbonate and the liquor producing a precipitate of lithium carbonate; and drying and recuperating the lithium carbonate.