There is provided a process for treating particulate scrap material. The process includes emplacing the particulate scrap material and a reagent material within a calcining zone with effect that a reactive process is effected such that a calcined metal material product is obtained, and carbonylating a carbonylation precusor material with effect that a carbonylated product is obtained, wherein the carbonylation precursor material is derived from the calcined metal material product.

A method is described for recycling nickel from waste battery material. The method includes providing waste battery material comprising a nickel-containing oxide, reducing the nickel in the waste battery material to the zero oxidation state to provide a reduced waste battery material, reacting the reduced waste battery material with carbon monoxide to form Ni(CO).sub.4, and reacting the Ni(CO).sub.4 with a source of sulfate to form NiSO.sub.4. The NiSO.sub.4 product is useful as a nickel feedstock in various processes which require a nickel source, including processes which prepare new battery materials.

The present invention relates to a process for the recovery of transition metals from battery materials comprising (0.1) providing a battery material which comprises oxidic nickel and/or cobalt compounds, (1.1) heating the battery material above 350° C. to yield a reduced material which contains nickel and/or cobalt in elemental form, (2.1) carbonylating the reduced material with carbon monoxide optionally in the presence of a reactive gas to yield a solid carbonylation residue and a volatile carbonyl which comprises nickel and/or cobalt carbonyl containing compounds, and (3.1) separating the volatile carbonyl from the solid carbonylation residue by evaporation.

A method for recovering the valuable materials from energy storage devices (e.g., spent rechargeable lithium batteries, especially those batteries using nickel-based or nickel and cobalt containing cathode materials) are described. In particular, the proposed method applies carbonyl technology, also known as vapometallurgy, to regenerate pure materials which can be reused as raw materials for making active cathode materials for new lithium batteries.

The present invention relates to a process for the recovery of transition metals from battery materials comprising (0.1) providing a battery material which comprises oxidic nickel and/or cobalt compounds, (1.1) heating the battery material above 350 C. to yield a reduced material which contains nickel and/or cobalt in elemental form, (2.1) carbonylating the reduced material with carbon monoxide optionally in the presence of a reactive gas to yield a solid carbonylation residue and a volatile carbonyl which comprises nickel and/or cobalt carbonyl containing compounds, and (3.1) separating the volatile carbonyl from the solid carbonylation residue by evaporation.