Y02P10/20

Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery recycling
20230038978 · 2023-02-09 ·

The inventions described herein provide methods and systems for recycling lithium iron phosphate batteries, including: adding an oxidizing agent to a recycling stream of lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO.sub.4) batteries to form a leach solution; filtering the leach solution to remove a residue and obtain a lithium rich solution; modifying pH of the lithium rich solution for filtering impurities and obtaining a purified Li solution; and adding a precipitant to the purified Li solution thereby precipitating a lithium compound.

Process for preparing an adsorbent material and process for extracting lithium using said material

The present invention relates to the field of solid materials for the adsorption of lithium. In particular, the present invention relates to a novel process for preparing a solid crystalline material formed preferably in extrudate form, of formula (LiCl).sub.x.2Al(OH).sub.3,nH.sub.2O with n being between 0.01 and 10, x being between 0.4 and 1, comprising a step a) to precipitate boehmite under specific conditions of temperature and pH, a step to place the precipitate obtained in contact with a specific quantity of LiCl, at least one forming step preferably via extrusion, said process also comprising a final hydrothermal treatment step, all allowing an increase in lithium adsorption capacity and in the adsorption kinetics of the materials obtained compared to prior art materials, when used in a process to extract lithium from saline solutions.

Method for processing electronic and electrical device component scrap

Provided is a method for processing electronic and electrical device component scrap, which can accurately and efficiently sort electronic and electrical device component scrap. The method for processing electronic and electrical device component scrap includes a separation step of separating non-metal objects 1b or metal objects 1a.sub.1, 1a.sub.2 from electronic and electrical device component scrap 1 containing the metal objects 1a.sub.1, 1a.sub.2 and the non-metal objects 1b using a sorter 10 comprising a metal sensor 2, a color camera 3, an air valve 4, and a conveyor 5, wherein a fixed distance is provided between the metal objects 1a.sub.1, 1a.sub.2 adjacent to each other so as to prevent the non-metal objects 1b between the metal objects 1a.sub.1, 1a.sub.2 from being erroneously detected, when detecting the metal objects 1a.sub.1, 1a.sub.2 in the electronic and electrical device component scrap 1 by the metal sensor 2.

Vacuum Smelting of Sorted Aluminum
20230010888 · 2023-01-12 · ·

Aluminum scrap pieces are sorted into selected alloys and then fed into a vacuum smelting furnace to melt. The aluminum scrap pieces may be sorted into various cast aluminum alloy series, wrought aluminum alloy series, or extrusion aluminum alloy series. The sorting may be performed using x-ray fluorescence, artificial intelligence, or laser induced breakdown spectroscopy.

Automated system that mechanically extracts spark plug tips containing valuable metals
11548106 · 2023-01-10 · ·

An automated, high throughput system that mechanically separates electrode tips from spark plugs to facilitate recovery of platinum group metals in the electrodes. Spark plugs may be fed into the system in bulk and an automated mechanism under computer control executes a sequence of operations to feed plugs in a fixed orientation and at a controlled rate to a robot arm. The robot arm has a gripper that securely holds a set of spark plugs and passes them across a cutting tool to separate tips from the bodies. The gripper has independently actuated finger assemblies that accommodate plugs of varying shapes. A visual inspection system ensures that spark plugs are oriented with the tips facing in the same direction to simplify operation of the robot and the cutting tool. The tips may be processed to extract the contained valuable metals; the remaining bodies may be recycled as iron scrap.

Flotation arrangement, its use, a plant and a method
11548013 · 2023-01-10 · ·

A flotation arrangement for treating mineral ore particles suspended in slurry. The arrangement includes a primary line including at least two primary flotation cells, a first secondary line, and a second secondary line downstream of the first secondary line. In the arrangement, underflow from a secondary line is arranged to flow to the last of the at least one primary flotation cells from which the primary overflow was received, or to a primary flotation cell downstream of the last of the at least one primary flotation cells from which the primary overflow was received. The disclosure further relates a use of a flotation arrangement, to a flotation plant and to a flotation method.

System and method for processing scrap material

A system for processing scrap material that includes a variable-power electromagnetic drum separator wherein shredded scrap material is placed in free fall at a position proximate the electromagnetic drum separator. A first fraction of the scrap material is attracted to the electromagnetic drum separator and is carried under the rotational axis of the electromagnetic drum separator thereby separating the first fraction of material from a second fraction of the material which continues to free fall and wherein the first fraction is a low-copper ferrous material with the second fraction having a higher non-ferrous content than the first fraction. A magnetic drum separator may be positioned upstream of the variable-power electromagnetic drum separator and be used to separate non-ferrous materials. The variable-power electromagnetic drum separator may be adjusted so that the second fraction includes some ferrous material. A robotic picker may be used to remove undesirable materials from the second fraction.

Magnesium oxide for annealing separators, and grain-oriented magnetic steel sheet

An object of the present invention is to provide magnesium oxide for an annealing separator which is useful for obtaining grain-oriented electromagnetic steel sheets with excellent magnetic properties and insulating properties. To resolve the above object, an aspect of the present invention resides in magnesium oxide for an annealing separator having a sulfur content of 0.1 to 0.5 mass % and an aggregation degree R.sub.Blaine/R.sub.BET of 3.0 to 5.5 wherein R.sub.Blaine is the particle size calculated from the Blaine specific surface area and R.sub.BET is the particle size calculated from the BET specific surface area.

Recycling Li-ion batteries using green chemicals and processes

A process for extracting, recovering and recycling metals and materials from spent lithium ion batteries (LIB) that comprises the contacting battery waste products with a deep eutectic solvent, and leaching the metal from the battery waste product and extracting the metal into the deep eutectic solvent with heat and agitation. After the leaching and extracting, the process further includes recovering the dissolved metals ions from the deep eutectic solvent solution, followed by a step of regeneration of cathode materials.

High-strength structural steel material having excellent fatigue crack propagation inhibitory characteristics and manufacturing method therefor
11591677 · 2023-02-28 · ·

A high-strength structural steel material having excellent fatigue crack propagation inhibitory characteristics according to an aspect of the present invention contains, by weight, 0.02-0.12% of C, 1.7-2.5% of Mn, 0.01-0.8% of Si, 0.005-0.5% of Al, and the balance Fe and unavoidable impurities, wherein a microstructure of the structural steel sheet material is divided into a surface layer portion outside and a central portion inside along a thickness direction; the surface layer portion comprises tempered bainite as a matrix structure, fresh martensite as a second structure, and austenite as a residual structure; and the central portion comprises lath bainite.