Production method for valuable metals

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2025158147-A1
Application number	US-202218840101-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Nov 9, 2022
Priority date	Feb 21, 2022
Publication date	May 15, 2025
Grant date	—

Abstract

The invention is a method for producing valuable metals from raw material containing valuable metals including Cu, Ni and Co. The method includes at least: a preparation step for preparing raw material containing Li, Al, and valuable metals; a reduction melting step; and a slag separation step for separating the slag from the reduced product to collect the alloy. One or both of the preparation step and the reduction melting step include adding Ca-containing flux to the raw material. In the reduction melting step, while the furnace walls of the melting furnace are cooled with the cooling means, a solid slag layer having a Ca/Al value smaller than the Ca/Al value of the slag or a solid slag layer containing 15 mass % or more Al and 3 mass % or more Li is formed on the inside surface of the melting furnace.

First claim

1 . A method for producing a valuable metal comprising copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), and cobalt (Co) from a raw material comprising the valuable metal, the method comprising:
a preparation step of preparing a raw material comprising 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 outside so as to obtain a reduced product comprising a slag and an alloy comprising the valuable metal; and a slag separation step of separating the slag from the reduced product to recover the alloy, wherein in one or both of the preparation step and the reductive melting step, a flux comprising calcium (Ca) is added to the raw material, in the reductive melting step, the reductive melting treatment is performed at a slag heating temperature of 1,500° C. or higher and 1,600° C. or lower, while the furnace wall of the melting furnace is cooled by the cooling means, a solidified slag layer having a Ca/Al value of 0.45 or less, the Ca/Al value being smaller than a Ca/Al value in the slag, or a solidified slag layer comprising 15 mass % or more of Al and 3 mass % or more of Li is formed on an inner surface of the melting furnace.

2 . The method for producing a valuable metal according to claim 1 , wherein the solidified slag layer comprises at least LiAlO 2 .

3 . The method for producing a valuable metal according to claim 1 , wherein in the reductive melting step, the reductive melting treatment is performed at a metal heating temperature of 1,300° C. or higher.

4 . The method for producing a valuable metal according to claim 1 , wherein the raw material comprises a discarded lithium ion battery.

5 . The method for producing a valuable metal according to claim 2 , wherein in the reductive melting step, the reductive melting treatment is performed at a metal heating temperature of 1,300° C. or higher.

6 . The method for producing a valuable metal according to claim 2 , wherein the raw material comprises a discarded lithium ion battery.

Assignees

• Sumitomo Metal Mining Co

Inventors

• Yamashita Yu
• Maeba Kazunari
• Nagakura Toshihiko

Classifications

• C22B23/02

  by dry processes · CPC title

• C22B15/0052

  Reduction smelting or converting · CPC title

• C22B7/004

  separating two or more metals by melting out (liquation), i.e. heating above the temperature of the lower melting metal component(s); by fractional crystallisation (controlled freezing) · CPC title

• C22B5/02

  Dry methods {smelting of sulfides or formation of mattes} · CPC title

• Y02W30/84

  Recycling of batteries or fuel cells · CPC title