Method for recovering valuable metals from spent lithium-ion-batterie

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2022263147-A1
Application number	US-202217735227-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	May 3, 2022
Priority date	Mar 19, 2020
Publication date	Aug 18, 2022
Grant date	—

Abstract

This invention is directed to a method for recovering valuable metals from spent lithium-ion-batteries using CO2/CO/H2O gas mixture, or reducing gas comprising CH4, or solid carbon or combination thereof.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method for recovering valuable metals from spent lithium ion batteries, the method comprises:
a) opening a spent lithium ion battery (LIB), and remove its cover; b) grinding the remaining spent LIB at predetermined temperature to obtain a particulate spent lithium ion batteries material including particles having a predetermined grain size; c) separating from said particulate spent lithium ion batteries material any plastic and Teflon matrix; d) treating said separated particulate spent lithium ion batteries material with a reducing gas comprising CH 4 , at predetermined temperature for carbonization of the lithium to obtain a particulate spent lithium ion batteries material comprising lithium carbonate; e) treating said particulate spent lithium ion batteries material comprising lithium carbonate with cold water and optionally with additional CO 2 ; f) filtering the slurry obtained in step (e) to obtain a lithium carbonate filtrate and a residue comprising cobalt, iron, other valuable metals, and non-metal impurities; g) heating said lithium carbonate filtrate at predetermined temperature to lithium carbonate precipitate sedimentation followed by filtration to obtain lithium carbonate precipitate and a mother liquid; and h) treating said residue comprising cobalt, iron, other valuable metals, and non-metal impurities of step (f) with a flux at predetermined temperature to obtain valuable metallic ingots.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the reducing gas comprising CH 4 comprises a CH 4 /N 2 gas mixture, CH 4 /air gas mixture or CH 4 gas.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said particulate spent lithium ion batteries material obtained in step (b) has a grain size of between 2-10 mm or between 2-5 mm.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined temperature of the grinding of the remaining spent LIB to obtain a particulate spent lithium ion batteries material is between 20-50° C.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the separation of plastic and Teflon matrix from said particulate spent lithium ion batteries material is done by air separation.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said treatment of step (d) of said separated particulate spent lithium ion batteries material with reducing gas comprising CH 4 —is carried out at a temperature of between 100° C. to 900° C.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said lithium carbonate precipitate obtained in step (g) is further dried to obtain a dry lithium carbonate powder.

8 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the partial pressure CH 4 in said CH 4 /air mixture is from 0.1% to 100% v/v.

9 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the partial pressure CH 4 in said CH 4 /N 2 mixture is from 0.1% to 100% v/v.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein heating at predetermined temperature of said lithium carbonate filtrate of step (g) is carried out at a temperature of between of 80° C. to 120° C.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said flux for smelting the other valuable metals comprises silica, carbon, calcium oxide, sodium oxide, alumina, iron oxide, Sodium tetraborate or combination thereof.

12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein treating said residue comprising cobalt, other valuable metals, iron and non-metal impurities with a flux of step (h) is carried out at a temperature in the range of 1200° C. to 1500° C.

13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said metallic ingots of step (h) comprise non-ferrous metals selected from Cobalt, Nickel, Manganese, Copper, Aluminum, Titanium, Tin, Lead, Zinc, Sodium, calcium, and combination thereof or iron ingots.

Assignees

• Yeda Res & Dev

Inventors

• Lubomirsky Igor
• Kaplan Valery

Classifications

• C22B26/12 Primary

  Obtaining lithium · CPC title

• C22B9/10

  with refining or fluxing agents; Use of materials therefor, {e.g. slagging or scorifying agents}(C22B9/18 takes precedence){(C22B9/006 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• C22B3/22 Primary

  by physical processes, e.g. by filtration, by magnetic means {, or by thermal decomposition} (treatment or purification of solutions by liquid-liquid extraction C22B3/26) · CPC title

• C22B1/005

  Preliminary treatment of scrap (C22B1/02 - C22B1/26 take precedence) · CPC title

• C22B23/026 Primary

  from spent catalysts · CPC title