A method of and system for electrolytic production of reactive metals is presented. The method includes providing a molten oxide electrolytic cell including a container, an anode, and a current collector and disposing a molten oxide electrolyte within the container and in ion conducting contact with the anode and the current collector. The electrolyte includes a mixture of at least one alkaline earth oxide and at least one rare earth oxide. The method also includes providing a metal oxide feedstock including at least one target metal species into the molten oxide electrolyte and applying a current between the anode and the current collector, thereby reducing the target metal species to form at least one molten target metal in the container.

A reduced iron production method using an electrowinning method and reduced iron is provided. The method includes, preparing a mixture by mixing, a solid electrolyte containing sodium peroxide (Na.sub.2O.sub.2) and boron oxide (B.sub.2O.sub.3), with iron oxide (Fe.sub.2O.sub.3); and putting the mixture in an electrowinning device provided with an anode and an insoluble cathode and heating to form a molten oxide and then applying a voltage to the anode and the cathode to form iron on the cathode. Therefore, by reducing iron oxide through an electrowinning method, a reduced iron in a pure iron state can be obtained. Although it is very difficult to obtain pure iron by refining an iron ore, by using the electrowinning method in which the composition of an electrolyte is controlled and electrolysis conditions are controlled, reduced iron that is pure can be obtained.

A method for recycling molten salt from electrorefining processes, the method having the steps of collecting actinide metal using a first plurality of cathodes from an electrolyte bath, collecting rare earths metal using a second plurality of cathodes from the electrolyte bath, inserting the collected actinide metal and uranium into the bath, and chlorinating the inserted actinide metal and uranium. Also provided is a system for recycling molten salt, the system having a vessel adapted to receive and heat electrolyte salt, a first plurality of cathodes adapted to be removably inserted into the vessel, a second plurality of cathodes adapted to be removably inserted into the vessel, an anode positioned within the vessel so as to be coaxially aligned with the vessel, and a vehicle for inserting uranium into the salt.

Lead from lead acid battery scrap is recovered in two separate production streams as clean grid lead and as high-purity lead without smelting. In preferred aspects, lead recovery is performed in a continuous process that uses an aqueous electroprocessing solvent and electro-refining, and spent electroprocessing solvent can be recycled to the recovery process.

An insulation assembly is provided, including: a body of an insulating material with a lower surface configured to contact a sidewall an electrolysis cell; an upper surface generally opposed to the lower surface; and a perimetrical sidewall extending between the upper surface and the lower surface to surround the remainder of the body, the perimetrical sidewall including: an inner portion configured to face an anode surface of the electrolysis cell and provide a gap between the body and the anode surface of the electrolysis cell; wherein the body is configured to extend from the sidewall towards the anode surface.

There is described a method of reprocessing spent nuclear fuel. The spent nuclear fuel is added to an electro-reduction cell containing a halide salt electrolyte at a temperature above the melting point of the metallic form of uranium and higher actinides present in the spent nuclear fuel. The cell is operated so as to electrochemically reduce the spent nuclear fuel to an alloy of uranium and higher actinides present in the spent nuclear fuel, wherein electrochemical reduction is continued until a concentration of unreduced components of the spent nuclear fuel is sufficiently low for the ahoy to agglomerate.

Methods and systems for producing lithium metal through room temperature electrodeposition.

The present disclosure provides a system and a method for reducing metal oxide to metal M.sup.1.

The recovery of gold and/or silver from gold and/or silver containing material is generally described. The gold and/or silver can be recovered selectively, in some cases, such that gold and/or silver are at least partially separated from non-silver and/or non-gold material. Gold and/or silver may be recovered from material using mixtures of acids, in some instances. In some cases, the mixture can comprise nitric acid and at least one supplemental acid, such as sulfuric acid or phosphoric acid. The amount of nitric acid within the mixture can be, in some instances, relatively small compared to the amount of sulfuric acid or phosphoric acid within the mixture. In some cases, the recovery of gold and/or silver using the acid mixtures can be enhanced by transporting an electric current between an electrode and the gold and/or silver of the material. In some cases, acid mixtures can be used to recover silver from particular types of materials, such as material comprising silver metal and cadmium oxide and/or material comprising silver metal and tungsten metal.

The invention comprises methods and apparatuses for the electrorefining of Mg from Al or Mg alloy scrap. The invention utilizes the density and charge features of Mg present in a melted alloy to continuously extract Mg and Mg alloys from a melted Al alloy feed.