The invention concerns a process for the recovery of metals such as Ni and Co from a Li-containing starting material.

In particular, this process concerns the recovery of metals M from a Li-containing starting material, wherein M comprises Ni and Co, comprising the steps of:

Step 1: Providing said starting material, comprising Li-ion batteries or their derived products;
Step 2: Removing Li in an amount of more than the maximum of (1) 30% of the Li present in said starting material, and (2) a percentage of the Li present in said starting material determined to obtain a Li:M ratio of less than 0.70 in a subsequent acidic leaching step;
Step 3: Subsequent leaching using relative amounts of Li-depleted product and a mineral acid, thereby obtaining a Ni- and Co-bearing solution; and,
Step 4: Crystallization of Ni, Co, and optionally Mn.

Due to the lower reagent consumption and higher Ni and/or Co concentration during hydrometallurgical processing, the invention is an efficient and economic process for the production of crystals suitable for battery material production.

The present disclosure concerns the production of precursor compounds for lithium battery cathodes.

Batteries or their scrap are smelted in reducing conditions, thereby forming an alloy suitable for further hydrometallurgical refining, and a slag. The alloy is leached in acidic conditions, producing a Ni- and Co-bearing solution, which is refined.

The refining steps are greatly simplified as most elements susceptible to interfere with the refining steps concentrate in the slag. Metals such as Co, Ni and Mn are then precipitated from the solution, forming a suitable starting product for the synthesis of new battery precursor compounds.

An apparatus for carrying out size reduction of battery materials under immersion conditions can include a housing configured to hold an immersion liquid comprising at least one of sodium hydroxide and calcium hydroxide. A first feed chute may define an opening therein for receiving battery materials of a first type into the housing and a first submergible comminuting device may be disposed within the housing and submerged in the immersion liquid to receive the battery materials of the first type from the first feed chute. The first submergible comminuting device may be configured to cause a size reduction of the battery materials of the first type to form a first reduced-size battery material.

An apparatus for carrying out size reduction of battery materials under immersion conditions can include a housing configured to hold an immersion liquid comprising at least one of sodium hydroxide and calcium hydroxide. A first feed chute may define an opening therein for receiving battery materials of a first type into the housing and a first submergible comminuting device may be disposed within the housing and submerged in the immersion liquid to receive the battery materials of the first type from the first feed chute. The first submergible comminuting device may be configured to cause a size reduction of the battery materials of the first type to form a first reduced-size battery material.

The present disclosure concerns a process for the recovery of valuable metals from polymetallic nodules. A two-stage process using SO.sub.2 in an acidic aqueous media is disclosed. In a first step, performed in mildly acidic conditions, Mn, Ni, and Co are dissolved; in a second, more acidic step, Cu is dissolved. Under these conditions, the leachate of the first step contains most of the Mn, Ni, and Co, while being nearly Cu-free. The Ni and Co are precipitated as sulfides; the Mn can be recovered as sulfate by crystallization. Cu, which is leached in the second step, is secretively precipitated, also as sulfide.

Process for the recovery of transition metal from spent lithium ion batteries containing nickel, wherein said process comprises the steps of (a) heating a lithium containing transition metal oxide material to a temperature in the range of from 200 to 900° C. in the presence of H.sub.2, (b) treatment of the product obtained in step (a) with an aqueous medium, (c) solid-solid separation for the removal of Ni from the solid residue of step (b), (d) recovery of Li as hydroxide or salt from the solution obtained in step (b), (e) extraction of Ni and, if applicable, Co from the solid Ni-concentrate obtained in step (c).

The invention relates to hydrometallurgical method for recovering metals from spent energy storage devices. The method comprises combining aqueous hydrobromic acid leach solution and an electrode material of spent energy storage devices in a reaction vessel, dissolving the metals contained in the electrode material to form soluble metal bromide salts, removing elemental bromine, if formed, from the reaction vessel, separating insoluble material, if present, from the leach solution to obtain a metal-bearing solution and isolating one or more metals from said metal-bearing solution.

The invention relates to hydrometallurgical method for recovering metals from spent energy storage devices. The method comprises combining aqueous hydrobromic acid leach solution and an electrode material of spent energy storage devices in a reaction vessel, dissolving the metals contained in the electrode material to form soluble metal bromide salts, removing elemental bromine, if formed, from the reaction vessel, separating insoluble material, if present, from the leach solution to obtain a metal-bearing solution and isolating one or more metals from said metal-bearing solution.

An apparatus for carrying out size reduction of battery materials under immersion conditions can include a housing configured to hold an immersion liquid comprising at least one of sodium hydroxide and calcium hydroxide. A first feed chute may define an opening therein for receiving battery materials of a first type into the housing and a first submergible comminuting device may be disposed within the housing and submerged in the immersion liquid to receive the battery materials of the first type from the first feed chute. The first submergible comminuting device may be configured to cause a size reduction of the battery materials of the first type to form a first reduced-size battery material.

An apparatus for carrying out size reduction of battery materials under immersion conditions can include a housing configured to hold an immersion liquid comprising at least one of sodium hydroxide and calcium hydroxide. A first feed chute may define an opening therein for receiving battery materials of a first type into the housing and a first submergible comminuting device may be disposed within the housing and submerged in the immersion liquid to receive the battery materials of the first type from the first feed chute. The first submergible comminuting device may be configured to cause a size reduction of the battery materials of the first type to form a first reduced-size battery material.