Methods Of Recycling Target Elements From Metallic Components

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2024392413-A1
Application number	US-202418668459-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	May 20, 2024
Priority date	May 23, 2023
Publication date	Nov 28, 2024
Grant date	—

Abstract

Methods of recycling target elements include dissolving and/or alloying a metallic component, including one or more target elements, with liquid gallium to provide a gallium melt and exposing the gallium melt with a liquid medium to form an intermediate liquid. The liquid medium is different than the gallium melt. The method also includes adjusting a pH value of the liquid medium to a first target pH and/or adjusting an applied electrical potential value to the intermediate liquid to a first target applied electrical potential, where at least a first portion of an initial total quantity of a first target element is present in a soluble form in the liquid medium. The method further includes isolating the liquid medium from the intermediate liquid to provide a first leachate, and separating the first target element from the first leachate.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method of recycling target elements, the method comprising:
(i) providing a metallic component including one or more target elements including a first target element present in an initial total quantity; (ii) at least one of dissolving and alloying the metallic component with liquid gallium to provide a gallium melt including the first target element; (iii) exposing the gallium melt with a liquid medium to form an intermediate liquid, wherein the liquid medium is different than the gallium melt; (iv) identifying a first target window where the first target element is soluble in the liquid medium, the first target window being defined by a set of pH values for the liquid medium and a stability region of the liquid medium; (v) adjusting at least one of a pH value of the liquid medium to a first target pH within the first target window and an applied electrical potential value to the intermediate liquid to a first target applied electrical potential within the first target window, wherein at least a first portion of initial total quantity of the first target element is present in a soluble form in the liquid medium; (vi) isolating the liquid medium from the intermediate liquid to provide a first leachate; and (vii) separating the first target element from the first leachate.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the liquid medium comprises an aqueous-based medium, a non-aqueous-based medium, or a combination thereof.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more target elements are technology-critical elements comprising (i) one or more rare-earth elements, such as cerium, dysprosium, erbium, europium, gadolinium, holmium, lanthanum, lutetium, neodymium, praseodymium, promethium, samarium, scandium, terbium, thulium, ytterbium, and yttrium; (ii) one or more platinum-group elements, such as iridium, osmium, palladium, platinum, rhodium, and ruthenium; (iii) one or more assorted elements, such as antimony, beryllium, cesium, cobalt, gallium, germanium, indium, lithium, niobium, tantalum, tellurium, and tungsten, and (iv) any combinations of (i), (ii), and (iii).

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein
(i) an amount of liquid gallium utilized to dissolve and/or alloy the metallic component comprises a first ratio between a mass of the liquid gallium and a mass of an electronic component from about 0.5:1 to about 10:1; (ii) dissolving and/or alloying the metallic component with liquid gallium is conducted at a temperature from about 30° to about 2000°; and (iii) wherein dissolving and/or alloying the metallic component with liquid gallium is conducted for a residence time from about 1 minute to about 168 hours.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein
adjusting a pH value of the liquid medium to the first target pH comprises adding one or more of an acid and a base to the liquid medium, and the acid comprises an inorganic acid, an organic acid, or a combination thereof.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the organic acid comprises lactic acid, acetic acid, formic acid, citric acid, oxalic acid, uric acid, malic acid, tartaric acid, butyric acid, folic acid or an combination thereof.

7 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the acid comprises an inorganic acid comprising hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, phosphoric acid, sulfuric acid, boric acid, hydrofluoric acid, hydrobromic acid, perchloric acid, hydroiodic acid, or any combination thereof.

8 . The method of claim 5 , wherein a concentration and a volume of the acid added to the liquid medium is based on a calculated total moles of all present metal elements, and wherein the volume of the acid is provided in stoichiometric excess of the calculated total moles of all present metal elements.

9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the volume of the acid is provided in stoichiometric excess of a calculated total moles of the first target element.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein intermediate liquid has a volume: volume ratio between the liquid medium and the gallium melt from about 0.5:1 to about 100:1.

11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the intermediate liquid provides an interface between the liquid gallium and the liquid medium to define a steeping residence time from about 1 to about 120 hours, and during the steeping residence time the intermediate liquid is maintained at an average steeping temperature from about 30° C. to about 120° C.

12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein isolating the liquid medium from the intermediate liquid to provide a first leachate comprises decanting the liquid medium from the intermediate liquid.

13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein separating the first target element from the first leachate comprises precipitating the first target element followed by performing a solid-liquid separation to define a liquid mother liquor component and a first isolated precipitate containing the first target element.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the first isolated precipitate comprises a salt of the first target element, an oxide of the first target element, and/or an oxalate of the first target element.

15 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising combining a remaining gallium melt with a second liquid medium to form a second intermediate liquid.

16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the liquid medium is a first liquid medium, and the method further comprises identifying a second target window where a second target element, which is different than the first target element, is soluble in the second liquid medium, the second target window being defined by a second set of pH values for the second liquid medium and a second stability region of the second liquid medium, wherein the second liquid medium may the same or different than the first liquid medium.

17 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising adjusting a pH value of the second liquid medium to a second target pH within the second target window and/or an applied electrical potential value to the second intermediate liquid to a second target applied electrical potential within the second target window, wherein at least a first portion of an initial total quantity of the second target element is present in a soluble form in the second liquid medium.

18 . The method of claim 17 , further comprising a step of isolating the second liquid medium from the second intermediate liquid to provide a second leachate including the second target element.

19 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising a step of separating the second target element from the second leachate.

20 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising filtering the liquid gallium to remove solid metallic particulates and/or extracting all metal elements to provide a reclaimed liquid gallium for subsequent use.

Assignees

• Univ Johns Hopkins

Inventors

• Gagnon Jarod C
• Sturm Cheryl E
• Shuler Scott A
• Pogue Elizabeth A

Classifications

• C22B7/006

  Wet processes · CPC title

• C22B58/00

  Obtaining gallium or indium {(treatment or purification of solutions by liquid-liquid extraction, by ion-exchange or by adsorption C22B3/20)} · CPC title

• C22B3/22

  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

• C22B3/165

  with organic acids · CPC title

• C22B3/06

  in inorganic acid solutions {, e.g. with acids generated in situ; in inorganic salt solutions other than ammonium salt solutions} · CPC title