A pyrometallurgical process for recycling shredded spent electric vehicle batteries of Li-ion type and/or waste from the production of these new batteries and battery rejects, and/or portable batteries of Li-ion type. The process entails the addition of iron, smelting via the supply of energy, separation of a slag, oxidizing treatment and separation of a second slag.

A process for producing hot briquetted iron with increased solid carbonaceous material and/or flux includes: providing a shaft furnace of a direct reduction plant to reduce iron oxide with reducing gas; providing a hot briquette machine to produce hot briquetted iron; coupling a chute between a) a discharge exit of the shaft furnace for discharge of hot direct reduced iron and b) an entrance of the hot briquette machine; adding solid carbonaceous material and/or flux to the discharged hot direct reduced iron from the shaft furnace to produce a mixture of the discharged hot direct reduced iron and the solid carbonaceous material and/or flux before feeding to the hot briquette machine; and processing in the hot briquette machine to produce a product of hot briquetted iron with increased solid carbonaceous material content greater than about 3 weight percent and/or an increased flux content.

Provided is a smelting method whereby a reaction for reducing pellets, said pellet being formed by using a saprolite ore as a starting material, can be effectively conducted and thus an iron/nickel alloy having a nickel grade of, for example, 16% or greater can be obtained. The method comprises: a pellet production step (S1) for producing the pellets from the saprolite ore; and a reduction step (S2) for heating and reducing the obtained pellets in a smelting furnace. In the pellet production step (S1), at least the saprolite ore and a preset amount of a carbonaceous reducing agent are mixed together to produce the pellets. In the reduction step (S2), a hearth carbonaceous reducing agent is preliminarily spread on the hearth of the smelting furnace and the pellets produced above are placed on the hearth carbonaceous reducing agent and then subjected to a heat reduction treatment.

A method of chromite reduction using cryolite (Na.sub.3AlF.sub.6) as an additive. The cryolite used may be pure cryolite or an impure mixture containing cryolite, such as the bath material produced as waste or as a by-product of aluminum smelting processes. In one embodiment, the reduction product is re-melted at a higher temperature to form larger metallic particles. In another embodiment, the chromite ore is granulated with cryolite particles and carbon reductant particles before being reduced.

Disclosed herein, in some aspects, are systems and methods for producing a material comprising iron through self-reduction of iron ore using bio-oil and/or other reducing agents (e.g., bio-based reducing agents), such as biocrude, ethanol, or other bio-based liquids or biologically sourced liquids. The bio-oil and/or other reducing agents can be mixed with the iron ore to form a furnace mixture, which can be heated, such that the components of the bio-oil and/or other reducing agents in the furnace mixture reduce the iron ore to form an iron product (e.g., a material that includes metallic iron). In some cases, the pre-formed furnace mixture allows for the reducing agents to interact with the iron more readily, thereby providing for quicker reaction rates, and thereby quicker reduction of iron ore, as compared to direct reduction iron production.

A method for manufacturing direct reduced iron wherein iron ore is reduced in a direct reduction furnace by a reducing gas, the reducing gas exiting the furnace through the top as a top reduction gas. The top reduction gas is captured and at least partly subjected to a CO2 recovery step during which it is divided into two streams, a CO2-rich stream and a CO2-poor stream. The CO2-rich stream is subjected to an alkanol production step to produce an alkanol product.

Provided herein are processes and methods for the bio-extraction of trace metals from a metal-oxide containing starting material (e.g., a metallic ore). The processes and methods may utilize metal-oxide reducing bacteria to electrochemically reduce metal oxides in the ores, thereby freeing valuable trace metals. In preferred embodiments, the processes and methods may utilize metal-oxide reducing bacteria from the group Shewanellaceae and/or the group Geobacteraceae.

A high-efficiency method for producing metal from metal oxide by carbothermic reduction includes step in which a holed cake is provided, which has a composition comprising a metal oxide, a carbonaceous reducing agent, and a binder, and the holed cake has a plurality of holes. The method continues with step in which the holed cake is placed in a high-temperature furnace for carbothermic reduction, to reduce the metal oxide in the holed cake into a metal.

Described are a method and a system for producing porous iron by means of a direct reduction process. In said method and system, a reducing gas is introduced into a DRI reduction device, and the direct reduction process is carried out therein. Coke oven gas and/or natural gas is/are reformed by adding gas, which contains steam and carbon dioxide and which is top gas from a DRI reduction device, and oxygen in a COG reformer so as to obtain reducing gas.

Method, apparatus and system for improved energy efficiency in a direct reduction iron production process which uses a direct reduction shaft furnace and syngas as the reduction gas. The method and system of the invention use a part of the top gas emanating from the shaft furnace as transport gas for the gasifier, and control the volume of the top gas used as recycled top gas or fuel for the gas heater. The present invention achieves high energy efficiency, and reduces the need to use additional CH.sub.4 source for the reduction gas.