A physical and chemical method is provided for de-mixing (e.g. extracting, separating, purifying and/or enriching) the metal constituents of an alloy or mixed material into different droplet or solid particle products that are highly enriched in the respective phases of the metal. The method involves for instance but is not limited to, shearing, separating and segregating metallic droplets and particles in a carrier fluid to form other droplets or particles that are each separately highly enriched in one of some, if not of all, of the constituent phases of the alloy or mixed material.

A recycling process that facilitates separation of materials from metallic substrates by cryogenically cooling the recyclable items to induce embrittlement of the metals. Embrittled metals may be shattered more efficiently and with a higher yield of materials bound to the metallic substrates. Metal embrittlement may be induced by mixing the source stream with liquid nitrogen, and cooling the stream to approximately minus 200° F. Multiple recovery stages may be employed to maximize the yield of the target materials. Embodiments may enable recovery of platinum group metals (PGMs) from catalytic converters with metallic foil substrates. Yield of PGMs may be enhanced by employing a primary recovery stage and a secondary recovery stage, by cryogenically cooling input materials for each stage, by mixing the pulverized material in secondary recovery with an aqueous solution to dissipate attractive charges, and by wet screening the pulverized material slurry to obtain the PGM particles.

A product comprising recycled metal fragments and an alloying supplement, and methods and system for producing same. In some examples, the product comprises a container, shot blasted pieces of aluminum alloy wheels and an alloying supplement. In some examples, the product also comprises an indication on the container of a composition estimate of the combined shot blasted pieces and alloying supplement. In other examples, the indication and/or the alloying supplement may be provided by a company in the business of providing alloying supplements.

PGM converting process and jacketed rotary converter. The process can include low- or no-flux converting; partial pre-oxidation of PGM collector alloy; using a refractory protectant in the converter; magnetic separation of slag; recycling part of the slag to the converter; smelting catalyst material in a primary furnace to produce the collector alloy; and/or smelting the converter slag in a secondary furnace with slag from the primary furnace. The converter can include an inclined converter pot mounted for rotation; a refractory lining; an opening in a top of the pot to introduce converter feed; a lance for injecting oxygen-containing gas into the alloy pool; a heat transfer jacket adjacent the refractory lining; and a coolant system to circulate a heat transfer medium through the jacket to remove heat from the alloy pool in thermal communication with the refractory lining.

Provided is a method for processing electronic and electrical device component scrap, which can improve an efficiency of sorting of raw materials fed to the smelting step from electronic and electrical device component scrap, and reduce losses of valuable metals. A method for processing electronic and electrical device component scrap which includes removing powdery objects contained in electronic and electrical device component scrap prior to a step of separating non-metal objects or metal objects from the electronic and electrical device component scrap containing the metal objects and the non-metal objects, using a metal sorter including: a metal sensor, a color camera, an air valve, and a conveyor.

A system for recovering rare earth elements from coal ash includes a leaching reactor, an ash dryer downstream of the leaching reactor, and a roaster downstream of the ash dryer that is cooperatively connected to both the leaching reactor and the ash dryer. Coal ash is mixed with an acid stream such that rare earth elements present in the coal ash are dissolved in the acid stream, thereby creating (i) a leachate containing the rare earth elements and (ii) leached ash. The leachate is heated to obtain acid vapor and an acid-soluble rare earth concentrate. Mixing of the coal ash with the acid stream can occur in a leaching reactor and heating of the leachate can occur in a roaster. The acid-soluble rare earth concentrate can be fed to a hydrometallurgical process to separate and purify the rare earth elements.

Disclosed is an incomplete extraction method for recycling batteries, which may include: introducing a pretreatment gas into a device loaded with a waste battery powder, and bringing a gas outlet into communication with absorption liquid A and absorption liquid B in order; raising the temperature and introducing the pretreatment gas; reducing the temperature and introducing a reaction gas; raising the temperature, introducing the reaction gas, and then introducing the pretreatment gas; and reducing the temperature, and turning off the pretreatment gas; adding an extractant to absorption liquid A, mixing the mixture, taking organic phase A, adding a stripping agent, and taking aqueous phase A; and adjusting the pH to acidity, then adding an extractant, taking organic phase B, adding a stripping agent to obtain a stock solution enriched in Li, Mn, Ni and Co.

Methods for niobium concentration from a carbonatite host rock are presented. A basic process for niobium mineral concentration involves performing niobium mineral flotation, on a sufficiently liberated ore slurry, using at one least aromatic hydroxamate collector; and at least one lead salt as a performance modifier. A more optimized process further includes dispersion. A further optimized process includes: magnetic separation, dispersion, sulphide removal, fine suspended particle removal, and niobium cleaner flotation stages. The use of one of number of tested lead salts during flotation improves the yield, and lowers the cost as a significantly lower amount of the collector is required. The process is useful for recovering a variety of species of niobium minerals such as fersmite, pyrochlore, columbite, fergusonite, niobium-containing rutile, and niobium-containing ilmenite.

A process for recovering materials from a black mass material obtained from lithium-ion batteries can include: i) conveying a black mass material as a black mass solid stream; ii) leaching the black mass solid stream to form a pregnant leach solution and residual solids; iii) separating the pregnant leach solution from the residual solids; iv) isolating a copper product from the pregnant leach solution; v) isolating an aluminum (Al) and/or iron (Fe) product from the pregnant leach solution; vi) isolating a manganese (Mn) product from the from the pregnant leach solution; vii) isolating a cobalt (Co) product from the from the pregnant leach solution; viii) isolating a nickel (Ni) product from the from the pregnant leach solution; ix) isolating a salt by-product from the pregnant leach solution; and x) isolating a lithium product the pregnant leach solution.

An asbestos waste neutralization device, that includes an acid tank and a vat containing a diluted acid solution, in which waste containing asbestos is dipped, the diluted acid solution neutralizing the waste containing asbestos during a neutralization reaction. The device further includes a filtration unit to separate, at the end of the neutralization reaction, solid inert waste from a liquid phase of the acid solution, and a regeneration unit for the liquid phase of the acid solution, which adjusts the hydrogen potential of the liquid phase of the acid solution by adding concentrated acid contained in the acid tank. In addition, the device includes an attenuation sensor for regenerated liquid phase of the acid solution from the regeneration unit, and a selective precipitation unit for the regenerated liquid phase of the acid solution, depending on the degree of attenuation the attenuation sensor senses.