The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 17, 2024
Filed:
Apr. 17, 2020
Umicore, Brussels, BE;
UMICORE, Brussels, BE;
Abstract
The invention concerns a process for the recovery of metals such as Ni and Co from a Li-containing starting material. In particular, this process concerns the recovery of metals M from a Li-containing starting material, wherein M comprises Ni and Co, comprising the steps of: Step 1: Providing said starting material, comprising Li-ion batteries or their derived products; Step 2: Removing Li in an amount of more than the maximum of (1) 30% of the Li present in said starting material, and (2) a percentage of the Li present in said starting material determined to obtain a Li:M ratio of less than 0.70 in a subsequent acidic leaching step;Step 3: Subsequent leaching using relative amounts of Li-depleted product and a mineral acid, thereby obtaining a Ni- and Co-bearing solution; and,Step 4: Crystallization of Ni, Co, and optionally Mn. Due to the lower reagent consumption and higher Ni and/or Co concentration during hydrometallurgical processing, the invention is an efficient and economic process for the production of crystals suitable for battery material production.