Methods of recovering active materials from rare earth-containing materials, and related apparatuses

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2025343291-A1
Application number	US-202519271618-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jul 16, 2025
Priority date	Jun 14, 2019
Publication date	Nov 6, 2025
Grant date	—

Abstract

A method of recovering active materials from a rechargeable battery comprises placing an active material of a rechargeable battery in a cathode chamber comprising a cathode of an electrochemical cell comprising the cathode chamber, an anode chamber comprising an anode, and a membrane separating the cathode chamber from the anode chamber, contacting the active material in the cathode chamber with an electrolyte comprising an acid, ferric ions, and ferrous ions, and dissolving at least one of lithium and cobalt from the active material into the electrolyte. Related apparatuses for recovering metals from active materials of rechargeable batteries are also disclosed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method of recovering active materials from a rare earth-containing material, the method comprising:
placing an active material comprising a rare earth-containing material in a cathode chamber of an electrochemical cell, the electrochemical cell comprising a cathode in the cathode chamber, an anode in an anode chamber, and a membrane separating the cathode chamber from the anode chamber; contacting the active material in the cathode chamber with an electrolyte comprising an acid, ferric ions, and ferrous ions; applying a potential between the anode and the cathode; and dissolving at least one of lithium, nickel, manganese, aluminum, copper, iron, zinc, samarium, cadmium, neodymium, indium, gallium, tellurium, and cobalt from the active material into the electrolyte.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein placing an active material comprising a rare earth-containing material in a cathode chamber of an electrochemical cell comprises placing an active material obtained from one or more of a rare earth ore, rare earth tailings, a rare earth magnet, a samarium-cobalt magnet, and an aluminum-nickel-cobalt magnet in the cathode chamber.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein dissolving at least one of lithium, nickel, manganese, aluminum, copper, iron, zinc, samarium, cadmium, neodymium, indium, gallium, tellurium, and cobalt from the active material into the electrolyte comprises dissolving at least one of neodymium, samarium, cobalt, aluminum, and nickel from the active material into the electrolyte.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein placing an active material comprising a rare earth-containing material in a cathode chamber of an electrochemical cell comprises placing an active material obtained from photovoltaic cells in the cathode chamber.

5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein dissolving at least one of lithium, nickel, manganese, aluminum, copper, iron, zinc, samarium, cadmium, neodymium, indium, gallium, tellurium, and cobalt from the active material into the electrolyte comprises dissolving at least one of indium, gallium, and tellurium from the active material into the electrolyte.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein placing an active material comprising a rare earth-containing material in a cathode chamber of an electrochemical cell comprises placing an active material obtained from coal fly ash in the cathode chamber.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein placing an active material comprising a rare earth-containing material in a cathode chamber of an electrochemical cell comprises placing an active material obtained from a nickel cadmium battery in the cathode chamber.

8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein dissolving at least one of lithium, nickel, manganese, aluminum, copper, iron, zinc, samarium, cadmium, neodymium, indium, gallium, tellurium, and cobalt from the active material into the electrolyte comprises dissolving at least one of cadmium and nickel from the active material into the electrolyte.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein placing an active material comprising a rare earth-containing material in a cathode chamber of an electrochemical cell comprises placing an active material obtained from one or more of a fluid catalytic cracking catalyst, phosphor, phosphogypsum, and phosphate clay in the cathode chamber.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein placing an active material comprising a rare earth-containing material in a cathode chamber of an electrochemical cell comprises placing an active material comprising one or more of lithium cobalt (LiCoO 2 ), lithium manganese oxide (LiMn 2 O 3 ), lithium nickel oxide (LiNiO 2 ), LiNi x Co y Mn z O 2 (LNCM), lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt-aluminum oxide ((Li(NiCoAl)O 2 ) (NCA)), nickel oxyhydroxide, nickel hydroxide, manganese tetraoxide, manganite (MnO(OH)), and cobalt oxide in the cathode chamber.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein dissolving at least one of lithium, nickel, manganese, aluminum, copper, iron, zinc, samarium, cadmium, neodymium, indium, gallium, tellurium, and cobalt from the active material into the electrolyte comprises dissolving lithium, nickel, manganese, aluminum, copper, iron, zinc, samarium, cadmium, neodymium, indium, gallium, tellurium, and cobalt from the active material into the electrolyte.

12 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising one of:
contacting the electrolyte with a nickel separation agent to form a nickel-containing material and separate the nickel from the lithium; or passing the electrolyte through an ion exchange resin formulated and configured to selectively adsorb at least one of lithium, nickel, manganese, aluminum, copper, iron, zinc, samarium, cadmium, neodymium, indium, gallium, tellurium, and cobalt from the electrolyte.

13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein dissolving at least one of lithium, nickel, manganese, aluminum, copper, iron, zinc, samarium, cadmium, neodymium, indium, gallium, tellurium, and cobalt from the active material into the electrolyte comprises dissolving lithium, cobalt, manganese, and nickel from the active material into the electrolyte.

14 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
contacting the electrolyte with an organic solvent to separate the nickel and the lithium from the manganese and the cobalt and to absorb the manganese and the cobalt in the organic solvent;
separating the manganese from the cobalt to recover the cobalt and the manganese; and
separating the nickel from the lithium to recover the nickel and the lithium.

15 . A method of recovering active materials, the method comprising:
placing an active material in a cathode chamber comprising a cathode of an electrochemical cell comprising the cathode chamber, an anode chamber comprising an anode, and a membrane separating the cathode chamber from the anode chamber; contacting the active material in the cathode chamber with an electrolyte comprising an acid, ferric ions, and ferrous ions, the acid metabolically generated by an organism; applying a potential between the anode and the cathode; and dissolving at least one of lithium, nickel, manganese, aluminum, copper, iron, zinc, samarium, cadmium, neodymium, indium, gallium, tellurium, and cobalt from the active material into the electrolyte.

16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein contacting the active material in the cathode chamber with an electrolyte comprising an acid metabolically generated by an organism comprises contacting the active material in the cathode chamber with an electrolyte comprising an acid generated by one or more of Gluconobacter oxydans, Aspergillus niger , and Ceriporiopsis subvermispora.

17 . The method of claim 15 , wherein contacting the active material in the cathode chamber with an electrolyte comprising an acid metabolically generated by an organism comprises contacting the active material in the cathode chamber with an electrolyte comprising one or more of gluconic acid, citric acid, succinic acid, xylonic acid, and acetic acid.

18 . An apparatus for recovering metals from active materials from a rare earth-containing material, the apparatus comprising:
an electrochemical cell comprising an anode, a cathode, a membrane between the anode and the cathode, and an electrolyte, the electrolyte comprising:
an acid;
ferric ions;
ferrous ions; and
an active material comprising a rare earth-containing material; and
a system for recovering at least one of lithium, nickel, manganese, aluminum, copper, iron, zinc, samarium, cadmium, neodymium, indium, gallium, tellurium, and cobalt from the electrolyte i

Assignees

• Battelle Energy Alliance Llc

Inventors

• Mcnally Joshua S
• Diaz Aldana Luis A
• Klaehn John R
• Lister Tedd E
• Reed David W

Classifications

• Y02W30/84

  Recycling of batteries or fuel cells · CPC title

• H01M10/44

  Methods for charging or discharging (circuits for charging H02J7/00) · CPC title

• H01M10/0525

  Rocking-chair batteries, i.e. batteries with lithium insertion or intercalation in both electrodes; Lithium-ion batteries · CPC title

• H01M4/525

  of mixed oxides or hydroxides containing iron, cobalt or nickel for inserting or intercalating light metals, e.g. LiNiO2, LiCoO2 or LiCoOxFy · CPC title

• H01M4/505 Primary

  of mixed oxides or hydroxides containing manganese for inserting or intercalating light metals, e.g. LiMn2O4 or LiMn2OxFy · CPC title