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.

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.

According to the present invention there is provided a method for the extraction of lithium from one or more lithium-containing ores such as spodumene, the inventive method comprising the steps of: milling said ore/s to a predetermined average particle size; optionally calcining the milled ore; further optionally performing a secondary milling step; providing an aqueous suspension of the one or more lithium-containing ores at a predetermined solids concentration; subjecting the one or more lithium-containing ores to an aqueous extraction medium defined by a predetermined partial pressure of CO.sub.2, a predetermined extraction temperature, over a predetermined time; and obtaining technical grade lithium carbonate/lithium bicarbonate therefrom. Optional concentration and/or precipitation/purification steps may follow.

There is provided a method of collecting and reusing an active material from a positive electrode scrap. The method of reusing a positive electrode active material according to the present disclosure includes (a-1) dry-milling a positive electrode scrap comprising an active material layer on a current collector to form the active material layer into a powdered state and separate the current collector, (a-2) thermally treating the active material layer in powder form in air for thermal decomposition of a binder and a conductive material in the active material layer, to collect an active material, (b) washing the active material collected from the step (a-2) with a lithium compound solution which is basic in an aqueous solution and drying, and (c) annealing the active material washed from the step (b) with an addition of a lithium precursor to obtain a reusable active material.

There is provided a method of collecting and reusing an active material from a positive electrode scrap. The method of reusing a positive electrode active material according to the present disclosure includes (a-1) dry-milling a positive electrode scrap comprising an active material layer on a current collector to form the active material layer into a powdered state and separate the current collector, (a-2) thermally treating the active material layer in powder form in air for thermal decomposition of a binder and a conductive material in the active material layer, to collect an active material, (b) washing the active material collected from the step (a-2) with a lithium compound solution which is basic in an aqueous solution and drying, and (c) annealing the active material washed from the step (b) with an addition of a lithium precursor to obtain a reusable active material.

Provided is a smelting method capable of effectively promoting a reduction reaction on pellets formed using nickel oxide ore as starting material to obtain a ferronickel alloy with a high nickel grade of at least 4%. The present invention is a method for smelting nickel oxide ore wherein ferronickel alloy with a nickel grade of at least 4%, the method comprising a pellet-producing step S1 for producing pellets from nickel oxide ore, and a reducing step S2 for reduction-heating of the obtained pellets in a smelting furnace. In the pellet-producing step S1, the pellets are produced by mixing nickel oxide ore with a specified amount of a carbonaceous reducing agent as starting materials. In the reducing step S2, the produced pellets are charged in a smelting furnace in which a carbonaceous reducing agent (furnace bottom carbonaceous reducing agent) has been spread over the entire furnace bottom and reduction-heating is performed.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for producing reduced iron from ironmaking dust which contains iron oxide which is generated at an ironmaking plant, takes note of the rotary kiln reduction method which does not require pretreatment of the dust, and has as its problem the pursuit of facilities which achieve further improvement of heat efficiency and stable operation.

To solve this problem, the present invention is characterized by heating and reducing carbon-containing shaped materials in a single closed space in which an internal heat type rotary kiln and an external heat type rotary kiln are arranged in series and including at least the insides of the two rotary kilns during which making the reduced exhaust gas which is generated at the external heat type rotary kiln burn inside of the internal heat type rotary kiln.

A method of processing iron ore fines from various possible sources, with particle size up to 0.15 mm (through 100 mesh sieve) with no or limited comminution, directly into the intense mixer, with a set of binders in specific proportions, aiming to optimize physical and metallurgical properties of the pellets with minimal binder addition, thus not compromising the quality of steel products. The binders are starch, sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide, among others. The mixture with adjusted moisture content goes through conventional balling discs or drums and size screening. The green pellets then undergo drying with forced air at around 150° C. for a short time. The pellets obtained have excellent metallurgical properties, and compression resistance around 70 kgf/pellets, without the high and undesirable economic and environmental costs of the conventional indurating process. An alternative embodiment (FIG. 3) considers indurating the pellets at temperatures below 1,200° C. to obtain similar mechanical resistance than pellets made by the conventional induration process, with temperatures above 1,300° C.

A method of processing iron ore fines from various possible sources, with particle size up to 0.15 mm (through 100 mesh sieve) with no or limited comminution, directly into the intense mixer, with a set of binders in specific proportions, aiming to optimize physical and metallurgical properties of the pellets with minimal binder addition, thus not compromising the quality of steel products. The binders are starch, sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide, among others. The mixture with adjusted moisture content goes through conventional balling discs or drums and size screening. The green pellets then undergo drying with forced air at around 150° C. for a short time. The pellets obtained have excellent metallurgical properties, and compression resistance around 70 kgf/pellets, without the high and undesirable economic and environmental costs of the conventional indurating process. An alternative embodiment (FIG. 3) considers indurating the pellets at temperatures below 1,200° C. to obtain similar mechanical resistance than pellets made by the conventional induration process, with temperatures above 1,300° C.

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.