Development of a metal recovery process from Li-ion battery wastes

A process for the recovery of lithium and cobalt from the waste of lithium ion batteries using sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide was proposed, and metal leaching performance was investigated. The proposed procedure consisted of mechanical separation of metal-containing particles and a chemical leaching process. The effects of leaching agent, of the size of metal-bearing particles, and of incineration as a pretreatment for the leaching, were examined here. Two stages of crushing and sieving resulted in satisfactory separation of the metal-bearing particles from the waste. Sulfuric acid leaching with hydrogen peroxide in a concentration of 15 vol.% gave a full recovery of the metals within 10 min of processing time. The leaching was carried out at a temperature of 75 degrees C and with an agitation of 300 rpm for a pulp concentration of 50 g/L in a batch extractor. It was also found that incineration of lithium cobalt oxide particles to remove carbon and organic binder before chemical leaching significantly reduces the leaching efficiency. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.