A method of recovering lead, antimony tin from lead acid batteries, lead bearing scrap and other lead bearing materials which includes smelting lead bearing materials in a reverb furnace to recover metallic lead; leaching the resultant slag produced in the reverb furnace with ammonium chloride (NH.sub.4Cl) to produce a slurry; precipitating antimony from the slurry with ferric chloride (FeCl.sub.3); performing a solid-liquid separation of the slag away from the resulting pregnant leach solution; precipitating lead carbonate (PbCO.sub.3) from the pregnant leach solution with carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2); recovering the precipitated lead carbonate (PbCO.sub.3) through solid-liquid separation; and processing the precipitated lead carbonate (PbCO.sub.3) in a reverb furnace to recover metallic lead.

A dilute copper metal composition includes 57-85% wt Cu, ≥3.0% wt Ni, ≤0.8% wt Fe, 7-25% wt Sn and 3-15% wt Pb. A process includes the steps of partially oxidizing a black copper composition to obtain a first copper refining slag and a first enriched copper metal, partially oxidizing the first enriched copper metal to obtain a second copper refining slag, whereby at least 37.0% wt of the amount of tin and lead processed is retrieved in the first and second copper refining slags together; and partially reducing the first copper refining slag to form a first lead-tin based metal composition and a first spent slag. The process further includes the steps of adding the second copper refining slag to the first lead-tin based metal composition, thereby forming a first liquid bath; and partially oxidizing the first liquid bath, thereby obtaining the dilute copper metal composition.

A disclosed process produces at least one concentrated copper product together with at least one crude solder product, starting from a black copper composition with at least 50% of copper together with at least 1.0% wt of tin and at least 1.0% wt of lead The process includes the step of partially oxidizing the black copper thereby forming a first copper refining slag, followed by partially reducing the first copper refining slag to form a first lead-tin based metal composition and a first spent slag. The total feed to the reducing step includes an amount of copper that is at least 1.5 times as high as the sum of the amounts of Sn plus Pb present, and the first spent slag includes at most 20% wt total of copper, tin and lead together.

An apparatus and process for melting and using scrap pieces of lead or lead alloy from making a web of connected grids for a lead acid battery by forming holes through a solid strip of lead or lead alloy. The scrap pieces may be compacted into briquettes which are submerged in a pool of liquid lead or lead alloy below the top surface of the pool and melt in the pool. Liquid lead from the pool may be cast into solid strips from which webs of grids are made.

A method for extracting and separating Gold, Silver, Copper, Zinc and/or Lead from an Arsenic-containing ore, concentrate or tailings characterized in that the extraction is carried by roasting in the presence of a calcium-containing material and at least one of an alkali metal halide and alkaline metal halide. In the method, Arsenic remains immobilized in the extraction residue.

An agent for selective antimony and arsenic removal and tin retaining includes 10-30 wt % of aluminum, 65-85 wt % of calcium, 1-10 wt % of coke powder, and 1-5 wt % of lead powder. According to the content of antimony in lead, the antimony and arsenic removal and tin retaining agent is added to a molten lead which is at a temperature of about 550-650° C. at a certain proportion so as to carry out an antimony and arsenic removal reaction; after the reaction is completed, cooling is carried out, and antimony and arsenic scum is fished out to obtain a molten lead with antimony and arsenic removed; the content of antimony and arsenic is reduced to 0.0005 wt % or less, and the content of tin is substantially unchanged. The production costs for lead alloy preparation are reduced, and no smoke and odor appear in an antimony and arsenic removal reaction process.

Disclosed is a process for the production of a purified soft lead product, including a first distillation step for distilling lead from a molten solder mixture to produce as overhead a first concentrated lead stream and as first bottom product a molten crude tin mixture. The process also includes a soft lead refining step for removing at least one contaminant selected from arsenic, tin and/or antimony from the first concentrated lead stream by treating the stream at a temperature of less than 600° C. with a first base and a first oxidant stronger than air, resulting in the formation of a third supernatant dross containing a metalate compound of the contaminant, followed by separating the third supernatant dross from the purified soft lead stream or product, whereby the third supernatant dross contains at most 1.0% wt of chlorine.

A separating and melting system and method for a waste lead grid in waste lead acid storage battery recycling is provided. A drying drum is mounted on an upper end of a smelting apparatus, a dust remover is connected to an upper end of the drying drum by a flue gas duct, a lead grid turnover box is connected to the upper end of the drying drum, and a lead-containing liquid agitator passes through the drying drum into the smelting apparatus; a spiral feeder is mounted on the smelting apparatus and located in the drying drum, one end of a lead grid barrier plate is placed on the spiral feeder, and the other end of the lead grid barrier plate is placed on an inner wall of the drying drum; an automatic ash acquiring machine is mounted on the smelting apparatus.

A method, apparatus and system for processing a composite waste source, such as e-waste, is disclosed. The composite waste source may comprise low-, moderate and high-melting point constituents, such as plastics, metals and ceramics. The composite waste source is heated to a first temperature zone, causing at least some of the low-melting point constituents to at least partially thermally transform. The composite waste source is subsequently heated to a second, higher, temperature zone, causing at least some of the moderate-melting point constituents to at least partially thermally transform. At least some of the at least partially thermally transformed constituents may be recovered. The method, apparatus and system disclosed may provide for the recovery and reuse of materials which would otherwise be sent to landfill or incinerated.

A disclosed dilute copper metal composition has 57-85% wt Cu, ≥3.0% wt Ni, ≤0.8% wt Fe, 7-25% wt Sn and 3-15% wt Pb. A process includes partially b) oxidizing a black copper composition to obtain a first copper refining slag and a first enriched copper metal. The process further includes oxidizing h) the first enriched copper metal to obtain a second copper refining slag, whereby at least 37.0% wt of the amount of tin and lead processed through steps b) and/or h) is retrieved in the first and second copper refining slags together, partially reducing c) the first copper refining slag to form a first lead-tin based metal composition and a first spent slag, adding the second copper refining slag to the first lead-tin based metal composition thereby forming a first liquid bath, partially oxidizing d) the first liquid bath, thereby obtaining the dilute copper metal composition.