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 method for producing an aqueous solution containing nickel, cobalt and manganese, includes: a leaching process including a pressure-leaching process of leaching a raw material under pressure to form a leachate containing nickel, cobalt, manganese and impurities; an impurity removal process of removing the impurities from the leachate; a target substance precipitation process of precipitating a mixed hydroxide precipitate containing nickel, cobalt and manganese by introducing a neutralizing agent into a filtrate from which the impurities are removed; and a dissolution process. The pressure-leaching process includes a first-stage pressure-leaching process and a second-stage pressure-leaching process of pressure-leaching a residue of the first-stage pressure-leaching process with an acidity higher than an acidity in the first-stage pressure-leaching process. The impurity removal process includes a first-stage solvent extraction process of selectively extracting zinc from the impurities and a second-stage solvent extraction process of selectively extracting magnesium from the impurities.

An exemplary embodiment of a synthesis method includes the following acts or steps: providing LiMn.sub.2O.sub.4 material as a precursor; leaching Mn from the LiMn.sub.2O.sub.4 material using an acid to form a synthesized solution; adding carbonaceous material to the synthesized solution; adding phosphoric acid to the synthesized solution with carbonaceous material to form MnPO.sub.4 composite material; and adding Li containing compound to the MnPO.sub.4 composite material to form LiMnPO.sub.4 composite material.

The present disclosure is directed, in certain embodiments, to processes for recovering metals from polymetallic nodules. The processes may include one or both of (i) a weak acid wash of the polymetallic nodule material and (ii) nano-filtration and/or limestone neutralization of recycled manganese-rich stream to remove magnesium from process streams to improve the recovery of target metals, including manganese. The processes may include cobalt and/or nickel solvent extraction to improve metal(s) recovery.

A method for extracting metals from the black mass of lithium-ion batteries, the black mass containing the anode and cathode materials of the batteries, wherein the cathode material comprises lithium, nickel, and cobalt. The method is carried out by an arrangement that is suitable for use in the method.

The present invention relates, inter alia, to a method of producing a co-precipitate comprising nickel, manganese and/or cobalt, and to a co-precipitate produced by the method. The method may be a method of producing a co-precipitate comprising at least two metals selected from nickel, cobalt and manganese, and comprise: (i) providing an aqueous feed solution comprising said at least two metals and at least one impurity; and (ii) adjusting the pH of the feed solution to between about 6.2 and about 11, so as to provide: (a) a co-precipitate comprising said at least two metals; and (b) a supernatant comprising said at least one impurity.

An exemplary embodiment of a synthesis method includes the following acts or steps: providing LiMn.sub.2O.sub.4 material as a precursor; leaching Mn from the LiMn.sub.2O.sub.4 material using an acid to form a synthesized solution; adding carbonaceous material to the synthesized solution; adding phosphoric acid to the synthesized solution with carbonaceous material to form MnPO.sub.4 composite material; and adding Li containing compound to the MnPO.sub.4 composite material to form LiMnPO.sub.4 composite material.

An exemplary embodiment of a synthesis method includes the following acts or steps: providing LiMn.sub.2O.sub.4 material as a precursor; leaching Mn from the LiMn.sub.2O.sub.4 material using an acid to form a synthesized solution; adding carbonaceous material to the synthesized solution; adding phosphoric acid to the synthesized solution with carbonaceous material to form MnPO.sub.4 composite material; and adding Li containing compound to the MnPO.sub.4 composite material to form LiMnPO.sub.4 composite material.

An improved method for treating manganese-containing materials, such as seafloor manganese nodules, by leaching with aqueous HNO.sub.3 and NO gas, and more particularly to methods for recovering valuable constituents from such nodules, especially manganese, cobalt, nickel, iron, and copper. It also provides a method to leach manganese material to release the titanium, vanadium, cerium, molybdenum and other metals from the manganese oxides and to make them available to be recovered.

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 selectively precipitated, also as sulfide.