A plant for the treatment and recovery of white slag resulting from steelmaking processes. The plant including at least one basic frame; at least one work chamber, movable in rotation around a relevant axis and configured to receive and treat the white slag, the latter being moved forward along at least one direction of treatment. The work chamber including at least one loading portion through which said white slag is loaded; at least one cooling portion arranged downstream of said loading portion and comprising at least one treatment channel of said white slag; and cooling device/structure/component/or the like comprising at least one coolant to cool said white slag to obtain at least one recovery powder; and at least one sorting and separation portion of the recovery powder arranged.

A process and an apparatus are disclosed for improved recovery of metal from hot and cold dross, wherein a dross-treating furnace is provided with a filling material with capacity to store heat. This filling material is preheated to a desired temperature by injection of an oxidizing gas to burn non-recoverable metal remaining in the filling material after tapping of the recoverable metal contained in the dross and discharging of the treatment residue. When dross is treated in such furnace, the heat emanating by conduction from the filling material is sufficient to melt and separate the recoverable metal contained in the dross, without addition of an external heat source, such as fuel or gas burners, plasma torches or electric arcs and without use of any salt fluxes. Furthermore, the recovered metal being in the molten state can be fed to the molten metal holding furnace without cooling the melt.

A process and an apparatus are disclosed for improved recovery of metal from hot and cold dross, wherein a dross-treating furnace is provided with a filling material with capacity to store heat. This filling material is preheated to a desired temperature by injection of an oxidizing gas to burn non-recoverable metal remaining in the filling material after tapping of the recoverable metal contained in the dross and discharging of the treatment residue. When dross is treated in such furnace, the heat emanating by conduction from the filling material is sufficient to melt and separate the recoverable metal contained in the dross, without addition of an external heat source, such as fuel or gas burners, plasma torches or electric arcs and without use of any salt fluxes. Furthermore, the recovered metal being in the molten state can be fed to the molten metal holding furnace without cooling the melt.

A dilute copper metal composition includes 57-85% wt Cu, ≥3.0% wt Ni, ≤0.8% wt Fe, 7-25% wt Sn and 3-15% wt Pb. A process includes the steps of partially oxidizing a black copper composition to obtain a first copper refining slag and a first enriched copper metal, partially oxidizing the first enriched copper metal to obtain a second copper refining slag, whereby at least 37.0% wt of the amount of tin and lead processed is retrieved in the first and second copper refining slags together; and partially reducing the first copper refining slag to form a first lead-tin based metal composition and a first spent slag. The process further includes the steps of adding the second copper refining slag to the first lead-tin based metal composition, thereby forming a first liquid bath; and partially oxidizing the first liquid bath, thereby obtaining the dilute copper metal composition.

The present invention lies in the field of pyrometallurgy and discloses a process and a slag suitable for the recovery of Ni and Co from Li-ion batteries or their waste, particularly from Black Mass. The slag composition is defined according to: 25% < MnO < 70%; Al.sub.2O.sub.3 + 0.5 MnO < 45% SiO.sub.2 > 5%; Li.sub.2O > 1%; MnO + Li.sub.2O + Al.sub.2O.sub.3 + CaO + SiO.sub.2 + FeO + MgO + P.sub.2O.sub.5 > 90%; and, wherein (CaO + 2 Li.sub.2O + 0.4 MnO) / SiO.sub.2 ≥ 2.0. This composition is particularly adapted to limit or avoid the wear or corrosion of furnaces lined with magnesia-bearing refractory bricks.

The present invention lies in the field of pyrometallurgy and discloses a process and a slag suitable for the recovery of Ni and Co from Li-ion batteries or their waste, particularly from Black Mass. The slag composition is defined according to: 25% < MnO < 70%; Al.sub.2O.sub.3 + 0.5 MnO < 45% SiO.sub.2 > 5%; Li.sub.2O > 1%; MnO + Li.sub.2O + Al.sub.2O.sub.3 + CaO + SiO.sub.2 + FeO + MgO + P.sub.2O.sub.5 > 90%; and, wherein (CaO + 2 Li.sub.2O + 0.4 MnO) / SiO.sub.2 ≥ 2.0. This composition is particularly adapted to limit or avoid the wear or corrosion of furnaces lined with magnesia-bearing refractory bricks.

A disclosed process produces at least one concentrated copper product together with at least one crude solder product, starting from a black copper composition with at least 50% of copper together with at least 1.0% wt of tin and at least 1.0% wt of lead The process includes the step of partially oxidizing the black copper thereby forming a first copper refining slag, followed by partially reducing the first copper refining slag to form a first lead-tin based metal composition and a first spent slag. The total feed to the reducing step includes an amount of copper that is at least 1.5 times as high as the sum of the amounts of Sn plus Pb present, and the first spent slag includes at most 20% wt total of copper, tin and lead together.

A disclosed process produces at least one concentrated copper product together with at least one crude solder product, starting from a black copper composition with at least 50% of copper together with at least 1.0% wt of tin and at least 1.0% wt of lead The process includes the step of partially oxidizing the black copper thereby forming a first copper refining slag, followed by partially reducing the first copper refining slag to form a first lead-tin based metal composition and a first spent slag. The total feed to the reducing step includes an amount of copper that is at least 1.5 times as high as the sum of the amounts of Sn plus Pb present, and the first spent slag includes at most 20% wt total of copper, tin and lead together.

A method of continuously processing nickel-containing copper sulphide materials into blister copper, waste slag, and copper-nickel alloy includes oxidizing smelting along with SiO2 and CaO-containing fluxes and coal in a conversion furnace for conversion to produce blister copper, gases with concentration of SO.sub.2, and slag with an SiO2:CaO concentration ratio of 0.4:1 to 3:1, in which the sum of the iron, nickel, and cobalt is not more than 30 wt. %, at a specific oxygen consumption in the range of 150-240 Nm.sup.3 per ton of dry sulphide material, and depleting the slag in a separate reduction furnace, using a mixture of an oxygen-containing gas and a hydrocarbon fuel at an oxygen consumption coefficient (α) in a range of 0.5 to 0.9, while supplying coal in an amount of up to 15% of weight of the slag produced by the oxidizing smelting, to produce a waste slag and a copper-nickel alloy.

A method of continuously processing nickel-containing copper sulphide materials into blister copper, waste slag, and copper-nickel alloy includes oxidizing smelting along with SiO2 and CaO-containing fluxes and coal in a conversion furnace for conversion to produce blister copper, gases with concentration of SO.sub.2, and slag with an SiO2:CaO concentration ratio of 0.4:1 to 3:1, in which the sum of the iron, nickel, and cobalt is not more than 30 wt. %, at a specific oxygen consumption in the range of 150-240 Nm.sup.3 per ton of dry sulphide material, and depleting the slag in a separate reduction furnace, using a mixture of an oxygen-containing gas and a hydrocarbon fuel at an oxygen consumption coefficient (α) in a range of 0.5 to 0.9, while supplying coal in an amount of up to 15% of weight of the slag produced by the oxidizing smelting, to produce a waste slag and a copper-nickel alloy.