A method of recovering a cathode active material precursor according to an embodiment of the present invention includes preparing a cathode active material mixture including a lithium composite oxide, separating lithium from the cathode active material mixture to form a preliminary transition metal precursor, acid-treating the preliminary transition metal precursor to form a complex transition metal salt solution, and adding an acidic extractant to the complex transition metal salt solution and then adding a basic compound to recover a transition metal precursor, and thus the extraction rate of transition metals can be improved.

A treatment process for crystallizing a metal sulfate involving pre-treating a feedstock comprising calcium, magnesium, and/or lithium impurities, the pre-treating involving pre-leaching the feedstock in the presence of a lixiviant, selectively extracting a first portion of any of the impurities from the feedstock, and forming a leached solution comprising an uncrystallized metal sulfate and any remaining impurities; and/or refining the leached solution and removing a second portion of any of the remaining impurities; and crystallizing the uncrystallized metal sulfate from the leached solution to form a crystallized metal sulfate. So processed, the crystallized metal sulfate may be battery-grade or electroplating-grade.

A process for recovering a nickel cobalt manganese hydroxide from recycled lithium-ion battery (LIB) material such as black mass, black powder, filter cake, or the like. The recycled LIB material is mixed with water and either sulfuric acid or hydrochloric acid at a pH less than 2. Cobalt, nickel, and manganese oxides from the recycled lithium-ion battery material dissolve into the acidic water with the reductive assistance of gaseous sulfur dioxide. Anode carbon is filtered from the acidic water, leaving the dissolved cobalt, nickel, and manganese oxides in a filtrate. The filtrate is mixed with aqueous sodium hydroxide at a pH greater than 8. Nickel cobalt manganese hydroxide precipitates from the filtrate. The nickel cobalt manganese hydroxide is filtered from the filtrate and dried. The filtrate may be treated ammonium fluoride or ammonium bifluoride to precipitate lithium fluoride from the filtrate. The composition ratio of nickel to cobalt to manganese in the acid filtrate may be adjusted to a desired ratio. The anode carbon is recovered and purified for reuse.

In a method for recovering active metals from a lithium secondary battery according to exemplary embodiments, a cathode active material mixture including a lithium composite oxide may be reacted with a reducing reaction gas under a pressurized condition and washed with water. In this case, a large amount of the cathode active material mixture may be treated within a shortened process time, and the active metal may be recovered with high yield and high efficiency.

Disclosed is a method for producing battery-grade nickel sulfate by using laterite nickel ore comprising the following steps: sorting the laterite nickel ore to obtain lump ore and sediment ore; crushing the lump ore, and then performing heap leaching, to obtain a crude nickel sulfate solution A; separating the sediment ore to obtain high chromium ore, low iron, high magnesium ore, and high iron, low magnesium ore, and drying, roasting, reducing, and sulfurating the low iron, high magnesium ore to obtain low nickel matte; blowing and performing water extraction on the low nickel matte, and then performing oxygen pressure leaching, to obtain a crude nickel sulfate solution B; performing pressure leaching on the high iron, low magnesium ore to obtain a crude nickel sulfate solution C; and performing extraction on the crude nickel sulfate solutions A, B, and C, and then evaporating and crystallizing, to obtain battery-grade nickel sulfate.

A method of treating a leaching solution derived from a black mass from spent lithium-ion batteries comprising setting pH of the leaching solution to about pH 1.2 to 2.5, adding iron powder to induce copper cementation, adding lime after copper cementation, and after adding lime, transiting pH of the leaching solution to about pH 6 to extract calcium fluoride, titanium hydroxide, aluminium hydroxide, iron hydroxide, and iron phosphate. A black mass recycling system comprising an impurity removal reactor configured to receive a sodium hydroxide feed, an iron powder feed, and a lime feed.

The present disclosure provides: a method for preparing a cathode active material precursor material by using a high-nickel-content waste lithium secondary battery; a method for preparing a cathode active material for a lithium secondary battery, including a cathode active material precursor material prepared by the method for preparing a cathode active material precursor material; and a cathode active material for a lithium secondary battery, prepared according to the method for preparing a cathode active material for a lithium secondary battery.

It is provided a process for recycling lithium ion batteries comprising shredding the lithium-ion batteries and immersing residues in an organic solvent; feeding the shredded batteries residues in a dryer producing a gaseous organic phase and dried batteries residues; feeding the dried batteries residues to a magnetic separator removing magnetic particles; grinding the non-magnetic batteries residues; mixing the fine particles and an acid producing a metal oxides slurry and leaching said metal oxides slurry; filtering the leachate removing the non-leachable metals; feeding the leachate into a sulfide precipitation tank; neutralizing the leachate; mixing the leachate with an organic extraction solvent; separating cobalt and manganese from the leachate using solvent extraction and electrolysis; crystallizing sodium sulfate from the aqueous phase; adding sodium carbonate to the liquor and heating up the sodium carbonate and the liquor producing a precipitate of lithium carbonate; and drying and recuperating the lithium carbonate.

Cathode material from exhausted lithium ion batteries are dissolved in a solution for extracting the useful elements Co (cobalt), Ni (nickel), Al (Aluminum) and Mn (manganese) to produce active cathode materials for new batteries. The solution includes compounds of desirable materials such as cobalt, nickel, aluminum and manganese dissolved as compounds from the exhausted cathode material of spent cells. Depending on a desired proportion, or ratio, of the desired materials, raw materials are added to the solution to achieve the desired ratio of the commingled compounds for the recycled cathode material for new cells. The desired materials precipitate out of solution without extensive heating or separation of the desired materials into individual compounds or elements. The resulting active cathode material has the predetermined ratio for use in new cells, and avoids high heat typically required to separate the useful elements because the desired materials remain commingled in solution.

A process for leaching a mineral particulate material comprising the steps of feeding the mineral particulate material to a leaching step (10) in which at least one valuable metal in the mineral particulate material is leached into a leach solution to form a pregnant leach liquor and a solid residue containing undissolved mineral matter, the leaching step being conducted under conditions such that elemental sulphur is formed in the leaching step, wherein beads or particles that take up elemental sulphur are added to the leaching step such that elemental sulphur is taken up by or collects on the beads or particles, and separating the beads or particles from the pregnant leach liquor and the solid residue. The beads or particles may be treated to remove sulphur and the beads or particles are returned to the leaching step. Alternatively the mineral doesn't need to comprise a soluble component and can be a refractory sulphide of iron and/or arsenic containing precious metals that require oxidation before downstream conventional processes such as cyanidation.