Processing hard rock lithium minerals or other materials to produce lithium materials and byproducts converted from a sodium sulfate intermediate product
US-2024425381-A1 · Dec 26, 2024 · US
Method for producing valuable metals
US2025137088A1 · US · A1
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Publication number | US-2025137088-A1 |
| Application number | US-202218838720-A |
| Country | US |
| Kind code | A1 |
| Filing date | Nov 9, 2022 |
| Priority date | Feb 22, 2022 |
| Publication date | May 1, 2025 |
| Grant date | — |
How to read this patent
A practical reading order for non-experts. Skip the full description unless you need deep technical detail.
- Title
What the patent document calls the invention.
- Abstract
A short plain-language summary of the technical disclosure.
- Assignees and inventors
Who owns or filed the patent and who is credited as inventor.
- Key dates
Filing, priority, publication, and grant dates set the timeline.
- First independent claim
The legal scope of protection — read this for what is actually claimed.
- CPC / IPC classifications
Technology tags used to group this patent with similar filings.
- Citations and related patents
Prior art links and similar publications in this corpus.
Abstract
Official abstract text for this publication.
The invention provides a method for producing valuable metals from raw material containing the valuable metals containing Cu, Ni, and Co, the method including: a preparation step of preparing a raw material containing at least Li, Al, and the valuable metals; a reductive melting step; and a slag separation step of separating slag from the reduced product to recover an alloy, wherein in any one or both of the preparation step and the reductive melting step, a flux containing calcium (Ca) is added to the raw material, and in the reductive melting step, while cooling the furnace wall of the melting furnace by the cooling means, the thickness of the slag layer is adjusted so that the temperature of the interface between a layer of the alloy and a layer of the slag is higher than the temperature of the refractory surface of the furnace wall in the melting furnace.
First claim
Opening claim text (preview).
1 . A method for producing valuable metals from a raw material containing the valuable metals containing copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), and cobalt (Co), the method comprising: a preparation step of preparing a raw material containing at least lithium (Li), aluminum (Al), and the valuable metal; a reductive melting step of subjecting the raw material to a reductive melting treatment using a melting furnace provided with a cooling means for cooling a furnace wall from an outside to obtain a reduced product containing an alloy containing the valuable metals and slag; and a slag separation step of separating slag from the reduced product to recover an alloy, wherein in any one or both of the preparation step and the reductive melting step, a flux containing calcium (Ca) is added to the raw material, and in the reductive melting step, while cooling the furnace wall of the melting furnace by the cooling means, thickness of the slag layer is adjusted so that the temperature of the interface between a layer of the alloy and a layer of the slag is higher than the temperature of the refractory surface of the furnace wall in the melting furnace. 2 . The method for producing valuable metals according to claim 1 , wherein in the reductive melting step, the thickness of the slag layer is adjusted while confirming that the interface is a molten body by inserting a measuring rod into the interface between a layer of the alloy and a layer of the slag. 3 . The method for producing valuable metals according to claim 1 , wherein the raw material includes a waste lithium ion battery. 4 . The method for producing valuable metals according to claim 2 , wherein the raw material includes a waste lithium ion battery.
Assignees
Inventors
Classifications
Scrap treating · CPC title
by dry processes · CPC title
- H01M10/54Primary
Reclaiming serviceable parts of waste accumulators · CPC title
Recycling of batteries or fuel cells · CPC title
Recycling · CPC title
Patent family
Related publications grouped by family.
External sources
Frequently asked questions
Answers are generated from the same data shown on this page.
- What does patent US2025137088A1 cover?
- The invention provides a method for producing valuable metals from raw material containing the valuable metals containing Cu, Ni, and Co, the method including: a preparation step of preparing a raw material containing at least Li, Al, and the valuable metals; a reductive melting step; and a slag separation step of separating slag from the reduced product to recover an alloy, wherein in any one …
- Who is the assignee on this patent?
- Sumitomo Metal Mining Co
- What technology area does this patent fall under?
- Primary CPC classification H01M10/54. Mapped technology areas include Electricity.
- When was this patent published?
- Publication date Thu May 01 2025 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) (A1). Legal status and post-grant events are not shown on this page.
- What related patents are in patentsdb?
- We list 8 related publications on this page (citations in our corpus or others sharing the same primary CPC).