• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Resources Recycling Conference
• /
• 2003.10a
• /
• pp.44-48
• /
• 2003

• Resources Recycling
• /
• v.15 no.6 s.74
• /
• pp.48-55
• /
• 2006

This study was carried out for establishing the physical recycling technique for commercializing process on household batteries. The procedure involves shape separator, crushing, magnetic separation, classification and eddy current separation in sequence. The separation capacity was 400-600 unit cell/hr with shape separation system. The impurities such as manganese and zinc in the magnetic product were below 0.1% respectively, the concentration of iron was above 99% in spent carbon zinc battery. Also non-magnetic products are composed of 22-30% En, 16-22% Mn, 1-3% Fe in the case oi spent zinc carbon battery. The amounts of other components such as carbon rod, plastics and separator were about 37-50%. From the eddy current separation of nonferrous products, the plate-type zinc components were separated up to 96% with 2,250-2,750 meter/min of the conveyor speed.

• Resources Recycling
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.21-29
• /
• 2014

Nickel, cobalt and manganese-based(NCM, $Li(Ni_xCo_yMn_z)O_2$) cathode active materials of spent lithium-ion batteries contained valuable metals such as cobalt(15 ~ 20%), nickel(25 ~ 30%), manganese(10 ~ 15%) and lithium(5 ~ 10%). It was investigated the eco-friendly leaching process for the recovery of valuable metal from spent lithium-ion battery NCM cathode active materials by DL-malic acid($C_4H_5O_6$) as an organic leachant in this research. The experiments were carried out to optimize the process parameters for the recovery of cobalt, nickel and lithium by varying the concentration of lixivant, reductant concentration, solid/liquid ratio and temperature. The leaching solution was analyzed using ICP-OES(Inductively Coupled Plasma Optic Emission Spectrometer). Cathode active materials of 5 wt. % were introduced into the leaching solution which was 2 M DL-malic acid in addition of 5 vol. % $H_2O_2$ at $80^{\circ}C$ and it resulted in the recovery of 99.10% cobalt, 99.80% nickel and 99.75% lithium in 120 min. $H_2O_2$ in DL-malic acid solution acts as an effective reducing agents, which enhance the leaching of metals.

• Resources Recycling
• /
• v.30 no.6
• /
• pp.36-42
• /
• 2021

Spent lithium-ion batteries are treated by reduction-smelting at high temperatures to recover valuable metals. Solvent extraction and precipitation of the HCl leaching solution of reduction-smelted metallic alloys resulted in a filtrate containing Ni(II) and a small amount of Si(IV). Adsorption and precipitation experiments were conducted to recover pure Ni(II) compounds from the filtrate. Si(IV) was selectively loaded onto polyacrylamide, but this method did not efficiently filter the solution due to an increase in viscosity. The addition of Na₂CO₃ as a precipitant to the filtrate led to the simultaneous precipitation of Ni(II) and Si(IV). However, it was possible to recover nickel oxalate with a purity higher than 99.99% by selectively precipitating Ni(II) with the addition of Na₂C₂O₄ as a precipitant.

• Resources Recycling
• /
• v.31 no.1
• /
• pp.21-28
• /
• 2022

The smelting reduction of spent lithium-ion batteries results in metallic alloys of cobalt, nickel, and copper. To develop a process to separate the metallic alloys, leaching of the metallic mixtures of these three metals with H₂SO₄ solution containing 3% H₂O₂ dissolved all the cobalt and nickel, together with 9.6% of the copper. Cyanex 301 selectively extracted Cu(II) from the leaching solution, and copper ions were completely stripped with 30% aqua regia. Selective extraction of Co(II) from a Cu(II)-free raffinate was possible using the ionic liquid ALi-SCN. Three-stage cross-current stripping of the loaded ALi-SCN by a 15% NH₃ solution resulted in the complete stripping of Co(II). A process was proposed to separate the three metal ions from the sulfuric acid leaching solutions of metallic mixtures by employing solvent extraction.

• Membrane Journal
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.1-9
• /
• 2024

The rapid expansion of the electric vehicle market has led to increased demand for battery recycling technologies. The recycling of spent batteries is crucial to stabilize the supply of rare metals, including lithium, cobalt and nickel, which are essential components for the battery industry. In addition, the technology for recycling spent batteries can help to reduce environmental and health impacts. This review presents the theoretical principles behind the metal recovery technology and the processes that are currently commercially available. It also describes trends in research and technological developments that aim to improve existing processes, and provides an overview of where recycling technology is headed.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.53 no.2
• /
• pp.137-144
• /
• 2015

The present paper deals with the extractive separation and selective recovery of nickel and lithium from the sulfate leachate of cathode scrap generated during the manufacture of LIBs. The conditions for extraction, scrubbing and stripping of nickel from lithium were optimized with an aqueous feed containing $2.54kg{\cdot}m^{-3}$ Ni and $4.82kg{\cdot}m^{-3}$ Li using PC-88A. Over 99.6% nickel was extracted with $0.15kmol{\cdot}m^{-3}$ PC-88A in two counter-current stages at O/A=1 and pH=6.5. Effective scrubbing Li from loaded organic was systematically studied with a dilute $Na_2CO_3$ solution ($0.10kmol{\cdot}m^{-3}$). The McCabe-Thiele diagram suggests two counter-current scrubbing stages are required at O/A=2/3 to yield lithium-scrubbing efficiency of 99.6%. The proposed process showed advantages of simplicity, and high purity (99.9%) nickel sulfate recovery along with lithium to ensure the complete recycling of the waste from LIBs manufacturing process.

• Journal of Powder Materials
• /
• v.29 no.3
• /
• pp.252-261
• /
• 2022

Cobalt is a vital metal in the modern society because of its applications in lithium-ion batteries, super alloys, hard metals, and catalysts. Further, cobalt is a representative rare metal and is the 30th most abundant element in the Earth's crust. This study reviews the current status of cobalt extraction and recycling processes, along with the trends in its production amount and use. Although cobalt occurs in a wide range of minerals, such as oxides and sulfides of copper and nickel ores, the amounts of cobalt in the minerals are too low to be extracted economically. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) leads cobalt mining, and accounts for 68.9 % of the global cobalt reserves (142,000 tons in 2020). Cobalt is mainly extracted from copper-cobalt and nickel-cobalt concentrates and is occasionally extracted directly from the ore itself by hydro-, pyro-, and electro-metallurgical processes. These smelting methods are essential for developing new recycling processes to extract cobalt from secondary resources. Cobalt is mainly recycled from lithium-ion batteries, spent catalysts, and cobalt alloys. The recycling methods for cobalt also depend on the type of secondary cobalt resource. Major recycling methods from secondary resources are applied in pyro- and hydrometallurgical processes.

• Clean Technology
• /
• v.30 no.2
• /
• pp.105-112
• /
• 2024

Globally, the demand for electric vehicles has surged due to greenhouse gas regulations related to climate change, leading to an increase in the production of used batteries as a consequence of the battery life issue. This study aims to selectively leach and recover valuable metal lithium from the cathode material of spent LFP (LiFePO₄) batteries among lithium-ion batteries. Generally, the use of inorganic acids results in the emission of toxic gases or the generation of large quantities of wastewater, causing environmental issues. To address this, research is being conducted to leach lithium using organic acids and other leaching agents. In this study, selective leaching was performed using the organic acid methane sulfonic acid (MSA, CH₃SO₃H). Experiments were conducted to determine the optimal conditions for selectively leaching lithium by varying the MSA concentration, pulp density, and hydrogen peroxide dosage. The results of this study showed that lithium was leached at approximately 100%, while iron and phosphorus components were leached at about 1%, verifying the leaching efficiency and the leaching rates of the main components under different variables.

• Resources Recycling
• /
• v.31 no.5
• /
• pp.34-41
• /
• 2022

Smelting reduction of spent lithium-ion batteries results in metallic alloys, slag, and dust containing Li(I). Precipitation of Li₂CO₃ was performed using the synthetic leachate of the dust. Herein, the effects of the precipitant and addition of non-aqueous solvents on the precipitation of Li(I) were investigated. Na₂CO₃ was a more effective precipitating agent than (NH₄)₂CO₃ owing to the hydrolysis reaction of dissolved ammonium and carbonate. The addition of acetone or ethanol improved the Li(I) precipitation percentage for both the precipitants. When using (NH₄)₂CO₃, the Li(I) precipitation percentage increased at a solution pH of 12. Under the same conditions, the Li(I) precipitation percentage using Na₂CO₃ was much higher than that using (NH₄)₂CO₃.