This invention relates to a method for the preparation of lithium carbonate from lithium chloride containing brines. The method can include a silica removal step, capturing lithium chloride, recovering lithium chloride, supplying lithium chloride to an electrochemical cell and producing lithium hydroxide, contacting the lithium hydroxide with carbon dioxide to produce lithium carbonate.

A method for heat-treating battery waste containing lithium includes: allowing an atmospheric gas containing oxygen and at least one selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, carbon dioxide and water vapor to flow in a heat treatment furnace in which the battery waste is arranged, and heating the battery waste while adjusting an oxygen partial pressure in the furnace.

A method for heat-treating battery waste containing lithium includes: allowing an atmospheric gas containing oxygen and at least one selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, carbon dioxide and water vapor to flow in a heat treatment furnace in which the battery waste is arranged, and heating the battery waste while adjusting an oxygen partial pressure in the furnace.

The present disclosure concerns an aluminosilicate having a Blaine fineness of about 500 m.sup.2/kg to about 3000 m.sup.2/kg and/or a specific surface area of about 4 m.sup.2/g to about 20 m.sup.2/g, as well as the uses thereof. The present disclosure also comprises a dry cementing composition and a mortar or concrete composition, the compositions comprising said aluminosilicate. The present disclosure also comprises a process for the manufacture of aluminosilicate. The process comprises: roasting a spodumene concentrate in an acid medium; leaching the acidic roast spodumene concentrate so as to obtain a mixture comprising a solid comprising the aluminosilicate and a leachate; and separating the aluminosilicate from the leachate in an acid medium, wherein said aluminosilicate contains a calcium concentration of less than about 5%.

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.

In this disclosure, a process of recycling acid, base and the salt reagents required in the Li recovery process is introduced. A membrane electrolysis cell which incorporates an oxygen depolarized cathode is implemented to generate the required chemicals onsite. The system can utilize a portion of the salar brine or other lithium-containing brine or solid waste to generate hydrochloric or sulfuric acid, sodium hydroxide and carbonate salts. Simultaneous generation of acid and base allows for taking advantage of both chemicals during the conventional Li recovery from brines and mineral rocks. The desalinated water can also be used for the washing steps on the recovery process or returned into the evaporation ponds. The method also can be used for the direct conversion of lithium salts to the high value LiOH product. The method does not produce any solid effluent which makes it easy-to-adopt for use in existing industrial Li recovery plants.

Integrated recycling method and processes including recycling spent catalyst to produce one or more water-soluble metal salts and one or more water-insoluble tail byproducts, and recycling rechargeable batteries to produce one or more battery-grade metals and one or more pure metallic byproducts, wherein the water insoluble tail byproduct is a feedstock in recycling the rechargeable batteries, the impure metallic byproduct is a feedstock in recycling the spent catalyst, or both.

Integrated recycling method and processes including recycling spent catalyst to produce one or more water-soluble metal salts and one or more water-insoluble tail byproducts, and recycling rechargeable batteries to produce one or more battery-grade metals and one or more pure metallic byproducts, wherein the water insoluble tail byproduct is a feedstock in recycling the rechargeable batteries, the impure metallic byproduct is a feedstock in recycling the spent catalyst, or both.

A green chemistry hydrometallurgical process for recovering one or more metals from a metal-containing material includes leaching the metal-containing material with formic acid, obtaining a leachate comprising the one or more metals as one or more metal formates, and precipitating at least one of the one or more metal formates. The metal-containing material may be a lithium-ion battery cathode material, resulting in Li formate remaining in solution and precipitation of salts including one or more of Ni, Co, and Mn formates. Steps may include filtration of the leachate, sulphurization of retained metal formate salts to produce metal sulphate salts, purification of filtered leachate by adding lithium carbonate and filtering, dewatering of the purified leachate, and thermal decomposition of resulting lithium salts to produce battery grade lithium carbonate. Carbon dioxide, water, and formic acid may be recovered and reused, without liquid or solid waste produced.

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.