A method for recovering platinum group metals, includes melting a material to be treated containing platinum group metals, under heating in a furnace, along with a copper source material containing at least one kind of metallic copper and copper oxide, a flux component, and a reducing agent. The molten metal absorbing the platinum group metals is separated from a slag oxide through difference in specific gravity. The molten metal absorbing the platinum group metals is subjected to an oxidation treatment. An oxide layer containing as a major component copper oxide and a molten metal containing as a major component metallic copper containing the platinum group metals concentrated therein are separated through difference in specific gravity. A silver content in the molten metal separated in melting under heating is controlled to 2,000 ppm or more and 8,000 ppm or less, thereby recovering platinum group metals with high efficiency.

Aluminum scrap pieces are sorted into selected alloys and then fed into a vacuum smelting furnace to melt. The aluminum scrap pieces may be sorted into various cast aluminum alloy series, wrought aluminum alloy series, or extrusion aluminum alloy series. The sorting may be performed using x-ray fluorescence, artificial intelligence, or laser induced breakdown spectroscopy.

The present invention provides a method which is capable of more strictly controlling the oxygen partial pressure required during the melting of a starting material, thereby being capable of recovering a valuable metal more efficiently. A method for recovering valuable metals (Cu, Ni, Co), said method comprising the following steps: a step for preparing, as a starting material, a charge that contains at least phosphorus (P), manganese (Mn) and valuable metals; a step for heating and melting the starting material into a melt, and subsequently forming the melt into a molten material that contains an alloy and slag; and a step for recovering the alloy that contains valuable metals by separating the slag from the molten material. With respect to this method for recovering valuable metals, the oxygen partial pressure in the melt is directly measured with use of an oxygen analyzer when the starting material is heated and melted.

The present disclosure concerns the production of precursor compounds for lithium battery cathodes. Batteries or their scrap are smelted in reducing conditions, thereby forming an alloy suitable for further hydrometallurgical refining, and a slag. The alloy is leached in acidic conditions, producing a Ni- and Co-bearing solution, which is refined. The refining steps are greatly simplified as most elements susceptible to interfere with the refining steps concentrate in the slag. Metals such as Co, Ni and Mn are then precipitated from the solution, forming a suitable starting product for the synthesis of new battery precursor compounds.

A system for melting lead scrap pieces. The system includes a vessel. A vortexing chamber is disposed in the vessel. The vortexing chamber includes an inlet, an outlet and an open top configured to receive lead pieces. A pump is disposed in the vessel and directs molten lead to the inlet of the vortexing chamber. A dross dam divides the vessel into a first region and a second region. The vortexing chamber is disposed in the second region and a conduit extends between the vortexing chamber outlet and the first region. A transfer pump is disposed in the second region and is configured for removal of molten lead from the vessel. The system allows dross to be skimmed from a surface of the molten lead bath in the first region.

A multi-chamber melting furnace for melting scrap of non-ferrous metals, in particular aluminum scrap, including a first shaft furnace with a shaft for charge material, in which impurities of the charge material can be removed, and at least one furnace chamber which is connected to the shaft of the first shaft furnace and has a first heat supply device, wherein at least one second shaft furnace with a shaft for charge material, in which shaft impurities of the charge material can be removed, the furnace chamber being connected to the shaft of the second shaft furnace and being arranged between the shafts in such a manner that the furnace chamber forms a main melting chamber in which the molten bath is located during operation.

Provided is a sorting method for valuable resources, including a thermal treatment step of thermally treating a target containing valuable resources, to melt aluminum and separate a melt, a pulverizing step of pulverizing a thermally treated product remaining after the melt is separated, to obtain a pulverized product, a magnetic sorting step of sorting the valuable resources from the pulverized product by a magnetic force, and a wind force sorting step of sorting one valuable resource from another valuable resource in the valuable resources by a wind force.

Provided is a platinum-group metal recovery method for efficiently recovering a platinum-group metal. The method for recovering a platinum-group metal includes an immobilization step of causing a molten product of a raw material containing a platinum-group metal, a molten product of a carbonate or hydroxide of an alkali metal, a molten product of an oxide, and a ceramic material to make contact with each other so as to immobilize the platinum-group metal on the ceramic material.

The present invention concerns a slag composition having a high lithium content, suitable as additive in the manufacture of end-user products, or for the economic recovery of the contained lithium. The lithium concentration indeed compares favorably with that of spodumene, the classic mineral mined for lithium production. This slag is characterized by a composition according to: 3%<Li.sub.2O<20%; 1%<MnO<7%; 38%<Al.sub.2O.sub.3<65%; CaO<55%; and, SiO.sub.2<45%.

The disclosure relates to a method for producing feedstock in piece form from metal, in particular aluminium and/or aluminium alloys, for a metal-casting installation, in particular aluminium-casting installation, in which scrap parts of metal, in particular of aluminium and/or aluminium alloys, are sorted on the basis of their alloying constituents and/or alloy contents and subsequently, on the basis of an alloy to be produced in the feedstock, the scrap parts are mixed into a composition having a homogeneous distribution of the alloy and fed to a press, in which the scrap parts of the composition are subjected to a pressure that compresses the scrap parts while generating a temperature, wherein, as a result of the application of pressure, the scrap parts are heated up to the transition temperature between solid and liquid of at least some of the scrap parts and/or the alloys and/or alloying constituents thereof before the feedstock is discharged in a specific geometrical form.