A process for recovering component materials from lithium battery materials, the process comprising the steps of: a) processing lithium battery materials in a comminuting apparatus comprising at least a first comminuting device that is submerged in an immersion liquid, thereby creating reduced-size battery materials and liberating electrolyte material and a black mass material comprising anode and cathode powders from within the lithium battery materials and providing a sized-reduced feed stream comprising the reduced size battery materials and the black mass material and electrolyte materials entrained within the immersion liquid; and b) processing the size-reduced feed stream to obtain at least a black mass solid stream that comprises the black mass material and a retained portion of the immersion liquid having entrained electrolyte materials.

An apparatus for carrying out size reduction of battery materials under immersion conditions having a battery inlet and at least a first comminuting device disposed within a housing and configured to cause a size reduction of the battery materials to form reduced-size battery materials and to liberate electrolyte materials and a black mass material comprising anode and cathode powders from within the battery materials. An immersion liquid can be within the housing and can submerge the first comminuting device so the black mass material and the reduced-size battery material are entrained within the immersion liquid to form a sized-reduced feed stream. A feed outlet may be downstream from the first comminuting device.

The present invention discloses a method for aluminum-enhanced dealkalization of red mud and separation and recovery of aluminum and iron. The method includes: dissolving red mud in water, introducing excessive SO.sub.2, introducing O.sub.2 for aeration, and refluxing part of alkaline leachate after filtering; when pH of a red mud mixture decreases to below 3, washing and filtering the red mud mixture, adding NaOH to acidic leachate to adjust its pH to a strongly alkaline level, aging and filtering the leachate, treating filter residue to recover Fe.sub.2O.sub.3, and refluxing part of alkaline leachate after filtering to the red mud mixture; and adjusting pH of the remaining alkaline leachate after filtering to a weakly acidic level, and conducting filtering to recover aluminum.

A method and apparatus for processing a material are provided, the material being the upper layer from a metal melting process, the material containing one or more salts, the material containing one or more metals, the salts and/or metals being recycled as a result of the method/apparatus. The method includes feeding the material to a leaching step; obtaining a leachate from the leaching step; feeding the leachate to a drying step or spray drying step; obtaining a solid from the drying step or spray drying step. Off gases from the leaching step are used to provide heat to the drying step. The drying step provides a product well suited to being turned into pellets for reuse.

The present application provides a process to recover materials from rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, thus recycling them. The process involves processing the batteries into a size-reduced feed stream; and then, via a series of separation, isolation, and/or leaching steps, allows for recovery of a copper product, cobalt, nickel, and/or manganese product, and a lithium product; and, optional recovery of a ferrous product, aluminum product, graphite product, etc An apparatus and system for carrying out size reduction of batteries under immersion conditions is also provided.

A method and apparatus for processing a material are provided, the material being the upper layer from a metal melting process, the material containing one or more salts, the material containing one or more metals, the salts and/or metals being recycled as a result of the method/apparatus. The method includes feeding the material to a leaching step; obtaining a leachate from the leaching step; feeding the leachate to a drying step or spray drying step; obtaining a solid from the drying step or spray drying step. Off gases from the leaching step are used to provide heat to the drying step. The drying step provides a product well suited to being turned into pellets for reuse.

A method for separating a rare earth metal. The method comprises contacting a solution comprising a rare earth metal with a first column to separate the rare earth metal into light, medium, and/or heavy rare earth metals; and contacting the light, medium, and/or heavy rare earth metals to with the second column to separate the light, medium, and/or heavy rare earth metals into individual rare earth metals. A method for extracting rare earth metals from a solution comprising contacting the rare earth metal with a plurality of resins. A method of extraction rare earth metal and lithium from a dynamic pad and permanent pad.

An improved beta(?)-spodumene (?LiAlSi.sub.2O.sub.6) nitric acid conversion process produces discrete lithium (Li), aluminum (Al) and silica (SiO.sub.2) materials by: (i) converting lithium nitrate, LiNO.sub.3, to lithium carbonate, Li.sub.2CO.sub.3; (ii) creating a Al-rich precipitate either by thermally decomposing aluminum nitrate, Al(NO.sub.3).sub.3, or by reacting Al(NO.sub.3).sub.3 with aqueous and/or solid ammonium carbonate, (NH.sub.4).sub.2CO.sub.3; and (iii) forming a solid SiO.sub.2-rich aluminosilicate residue by selectively leaching Li and Al from ?-spodumene. Three key reactants consumed during processingnitric acid (HNO.sub.3), ammonia (NH.sub.3), and magnesium oxide (MgO)may be regenerated internally by closed-loop chemical cycles, this feature of the process greatly improving its economics in commercial applications.

The present invention relates generally to a process for co-producing lithium, aluminum, and silicon-oxygen (SiO) materials, and more particularly, to a process for co-producing lithium, aluminum, and SiO materials from a hard rock source in the form of a granular concentrate of one or more lithium-containing silicate minerals including spodumene. In particular, there is provided a process for co-producing Li, Al, and SiO materials from the beta (?) crystallographic form of the Li-containing silicate mineral spodumene, which in its purest state has the composition LiAlSi.sub.2O.sub.6.

Methods for recovering a metal from a metal-containing material are provided. In embodiments, such a method comprises exposing a metal-containing material to a leaching solution comprising a solvent and a binoxalate, a tetraoxalate, or a combination thereof, under conditions to provide a leachate comprising a soluble metal oxalate; inducing precipitation of a metal-containing precipitate comprising the metal of the soluble metal oxalate from the leachate; and recovering the metal-containing precipitate.