The invention includes a method for treating a spent catalyst containing at least one refractory mineral oxide, one or more metals in the form of sulfide(s) chosen from the following metals: molybdenum, nickel, cobalt, tungsten, vanadium, and carbon compounds, the method comprising: a) in a smelting furnace preparing a melt of cast iron with a layer of slag; b) introducing into the furnace said spent catalyst and placing it in contact with the slag and the melt of cast iron, while maintaining the furnace in rotation and while injecting an oxidizing gas containing oxygen, above the mixture, to cause the combustion of the carbon and/or sulfur compounds; c) extracting from the furnace by sequential castings the slag formed in step b) to recover a cast iron melt enriched with metal or metals, and recover a slag containing the components of the catalyst other than metals, with the exception of vanadium.

The invention includes a method for treating a spent catalyst containing at least one refractory mineral oxide, one or more metals in the form of sulfide(s) chosen from the following metals: molybdenum, nickel, cobalt, tungsten, vanadium, and carbon compounds, the method comprising: a) in a smelting furnace preparing a melt of cast iron with a layer of slag; b) introducing into the furnace said spent catalyst and placing it in contact with the slag and the melt of cast iron, while maintaining the furnace in rotation and while injecting an oxidizing gas containing oxygen, above the mixture, to cause the combustion of the carbon and/or sulfur compounds; c) extracting from the furnace by sequential castings the slag formed in step b) to recover a cast iron melt enriched with metal or metals, and recover a slag containing the components of the catalyst other than metals, with the exception of vanadium.

The present invention relates to a method for selectively precipitating and extracting gold in aqueous solution by niacin. Aqueous Au.sup.3+ is precipitated selectively as it's complex from gold containing acidic mixtures by biomolecule niacin, with the formula [AuCl.sub.4].sup.[2Niacin+H].sup.+. After precipitation, the complex is separated from impurities by filtration. Recovered complex is reduced by using a reductant like sodium metabisulfite (Na.sub.2S.sub.2O.sub.5) to recover gold metal. The method is highly cost-effective, sustainable and recovers about 96.5% of gold in 2 minutes from an electronic waste composed of Au. Cu and Ni. The method is also employed to extract gold from nanomaterials waste generated in laboratories.

The present invention relates to a method for selectively precipitating and extracting gold in aqueous solution by niacin. Aqueous Au.sup.3+ is precipitated selectively as it's complex from gold containing acidic mixtures by biomolecule niacin, with the formula [AuCl.sub.4].sup.[2Niacin+H].sup.+. After precipitation, the complex is separated from impurities by filtration. Recovered complex is reduced by using a reductant like sodium metabisulfite (Na.sub.2S.sub.2O.sub.5) to recover gold metal. The method is highly cost-effective, sustainable and recovers about 96.5% of gold in 2 minutes from an electronic waste composed of Au. Cu and Ni. The method is also employed to extract gold from nanomaterials waste generated in laboratories.

A method for refining sulfidic copper concentrate includes feeding sulfidic copper concentrate and oxygen-bearing reaction gas and slag forming material into a reaction shaft of a suspension smelting furnace, collecting slag and blister copper in a settler of the suspension smelting furnace to form a blister layer containing blister copper and a slag layer, and discharging slag and blister copper separately from the settler of the suspension smelting furnace, so that slag is fed into an electric furnace. The method further includes feeding a part of the sulfidic copper concentrate into the electric furnace.

A method for refining sulfidic copper concentrate includes feeding sulfidic copper concentrate and oxygen-bearing reaction gas and slag forming material into a reaction shaft of a suspension smelting furnace, collecting slag and blister copper in a settler of the suspension smelting furnace to form a blister layer containing blister copper and a slag layer, and discharging slag and blister copper separately from the settler of the suspension smelting furnace, so that slag is fed into an electric furnace. The method further includes feeding a part of the sulfidic copper concentrate into the electric furnace.

A method for refining sulfidic copper concentrate includes feeding sulfidic copper concentrate and oxygen-bearing reaction gas and slag forming material into a reaction shaft of a suspension smelting furnace, collecting slag and blister copper in a settler of the suspension smelting furnace to form a blister layer containing blister copper and a slag layer, and discharging slag and blister copper separately from the settler of the suspension smelting furnace, so that slag is fed into an electric furnace. The method further includes feeding a part of the sulfidic copper concentrate into the electric furnace.

A method for refining sulfidic copper concentrate includes feeding sulfidic copper concentrate and oxygen-bearing reaction gas and slag forming material into a reaction shaft of a suspension smelting furnace, collecting slag and blister copper in a settler of the suspension smelting furnace to form a blister layer containing blister copper and a slag layer, and discharging slag and blister copper separately from the settler of the suspension smelting furnace, so that slag is fed into an electric furnace. The method further includes feeding a part of the sulfidic copper concentrate into the electric furnace.

The present invention relates to a process for recycling battery materials, in particular lithium ion/polymer batteries, and to the subsequent use of the useful materials recovered by way of the process according to the invention.

The present invention relates to a process for recycling battery materials, in particular lithium ion/polymer batteries, and to the subsequent use of the useful materials recovered by way of the process according to the invention.