A method according to an embodiment is for recovering a valuable metal from a waste electrode material of a lithium secondary battery by using lithium carbonate. An anode-cathode mixed electrode material that has been separated by draining, crushing, screening, and sorting a waste lithium secondary battery is preprocessed. A precipitation operation performed by adding lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) to a metal melt acquired by performing sulfuric acid dissolution using sulfuric acid. A valuable metal such as nickel, cobalt, manganese, aluminum, and copper is recovered as a residue in the form of a carbonate composite, and a lithium sulfate (Li2SO4) aqueous solution including lithium is recovered as a filtrate.

A method for processing fines bearing iron or other metals, such as manganese, bauxite, boron, chromium, iron-nickel and/or ferrous slags, from various possible sources, possibly with the addition of self-reducing agents and other minerals for chemical adjustment, with particle size up to 6.3 mm (through ? inch sieve), directly into the intense mixer, with a set of binders in specific proportions, aiming to optimize physical and metallurgical properties of the briquettes with minimal binder addition, thus not compromising the quality of steel or other metal products. The binders are starch, sodium silicate and a base such as sodium hydroxide. The mixture with adjusted moisture content goes through a conventional briquetting roller press. The green briquettes then undergo drying with forced air at around 150? C. for a short time, or at ambient temperature for a longer time. The briquettes obtained have excellent metallurgical properties, and sufficient physical resistance for handling and transport, without the high and undesirable economic and environmental costs of the hot briquetting process.

In a method for recovering an active metal of a lithium secondary battery, positive electrode active material particles including a lithium-transition metal oxide is prepared. The positive active material particles are treated by reduction. The reduction-treated positive active particles are subjected to ultrasonic dispersion and hydration. The hydrated transition metal slurry is recovered. The recovery rate of lithium and transition metal can be increased by disaggregation through ultrasonic dispersion.

To concentrate metals such as gallium from ore which is extracted from mines or used electronic components while suppressing the quantity of waste liquid generated is difficult. A first solid metal compound which contains a metal selected from a group consisting of gallium, indium, germanium, tellurium, and cesium at a first metal content in a mixture of the first solid metal compound is reduced to form a gaseous metal compound, the gaseous metal compound is oxidized to form a second solid metal compound, and the second solid metal compound is collected at a second metal content which is higher than the first metal content.

The present invention provides a method for recycling waste cemented carbide by molten salt chemistry, comprising the steps of: (1) carrying out vacuum dehydration on a molten salt media; (2) carrying out oxidation-dissolution reaction on waste cemented carbide in the molten salt media; (3) carrying out deoxidation treatment on a molten salt system; (4) carrying out thermal reduction reaction on the molten salt system; and (5) washing, filtering and vacuum drying obtained mixture by thermal reduction reaction to carry out separation and collection of the molten salt media and waste cemented carbide nanopowder. Compared with existing method for recycling waste cemented carbide, the invention has the advantages of short flow, simple equipment, low energy consumption, and excellent recycled products. Moreover, the invention doesn't produce solid/gas/liquid harmful substances to pollute the environment, and can create enormous economic and social benefits.

The invention relates to a method for treating used lithium batteries (10) containing the steps: comminuting the batteries (10) such that comminuted material (24) is obtained, and (b) inactivating of the comminuted material (24) such that an inactive comminuted material (42) is obtained. According to the invention, the drying is conducted at a maximum pressure of 300 hPa and a maximum temperature of 80? C. and the deactivated comminuted material (42) is not filled into a transport container and/or said deactivated comminuted material is immediately further processed after the drying process.

This disclosure belongs to the field of battery recycling technologies, and specifically, to a battery recycling method. An example battery recycling method is disclosed including: performing split processing on a battery to obtain a metal shell and an electrode assembly, where the electrode assembly includes a roll core or a lamination; and recycling the metal shell. According to the recycling method in various embodiments of this disclosure, the battery is not wholly crushed, but the battery is split to obtain the metal shell and the electrode assembly. In other words, the metal shell obtained through recycling by using the recycling method in this disclosure is not crushed, thereby ensuring reusability of the metal shell.

The processes can comprise feeding a furnace with a raw material. These materials can contain impurities and valuable metals (base metals, precious metals, platinum group metals, minor metals). The processes can allow the volatilization of arsenic and indium contained therein. Before volatilizing the material, composition of the material is optionally modified so as to obtain a ratio % S/(% (Cu/2)+% Ni+% Co) of about 0.5 to about 2. The processes can comprise feeding a melting device with the depleted material, and with a source of carbon in order to obtain a multi-layer product and an off gas. Before melting the depleted material, the depleted material composition is optionally modified so as to obtain a ratio % S/(% (Cu/2)+% Ni+% Co) of about 0.5 to about 2. Thus, it is possible to recover Cu, Ni and Co as well as several other metals, including In, Ge, Pb, Bi, precious metals and platinum group metals.

A system and method of converting tires or other solid carbon based material is disclosed, wherein the system and method includes providing a chamber, feeding tires or other solid carbon based material or both into the chamber, rotating the chamber and heating and reducing the material in the chamber, collecting solid residue from the chamber, collecting vapor from the chamber, and converting vapor collected from the chamber to a liquid. The chamber has an interior surface and can include one or more ribs on the interior surface for rotating and tumbling the material in the chamber while heating the material. In another embodiment, wherein the material includes tires, the system and method includes rotating and heating the tires in the chamber causing the tires to collapse and liquefy, exposing the metal in the tires which aids in grinding the carbon material in the tires as they tumble, collecting solid residue, for example, tire carbons, such as carbon black, and collecting vapor, for example, vaporized oil, and benzene and methane gas from the chamber and converting the oil to, for example, No. 2 to No. 6 fuel oil. In yet another embodiment, the method includes heating the chamber to a temperature from about 500 F. to about 1000 F. using one or more low temperature gases reclaimed from the material.

The invention concerns a process for the separation of cobalt from lithium present in a charge comprising lithium-ion batteries or related products, comprising the steps of: smelting the charge using a bath furnace equipped with a submerged air-fed plasma torch for injecting plasma gas into the melt; defining and maintaining a bath redox potential where cobalt is reduced to the metallic state and reporting to an alloy phase, and whereby lithium is oxidized as Li.sub.2O and reporting to the slag phase; decanting and separating the phases. It is characterized in that the reduction and oxidizing steps are performed simultaneously. A suitably low cobalt concentration is obtained in the slag.