Potassium Permanganate

Conventional chem. precipitation methods face challenges in selectively recovering valuable metals from mixed spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to the similar chem. properties of Mn, Co, and Ni.This study introduces a novel absolute chem. precipitation process for the stepwise recovery of metals, beginning with leaching followed by selective precipitationThe process achieves leaching efficiencies exceeding 90 % for Co, Ni, Mn, and Li under optimal conditions (1 h, 70 °C, 3.5 mol/L H₂SO₄, 8 vol% H₂O₂, and 20 g/L pulp d.).Subsequent precipitation steps deliver high-purity recoveries of FePO₄ (97.22 %), MnO₂ (94.1 %), Co₂O₃·3H₂O (98.7 %), Ni(OH)₂ (95.9 %), and Li₂CO₃ (99.8 %), with precipitation percentages exceeding 98 %.The method is effective across diverse LIB chemistries, including LiNi_xCo_yMn_(1-x-y)O₂ (NCM), LiFePO₄ (LFP), LiM₂O₄ (LMO), LiNi_xCo_yAl_(1-x-y)O₂ (NCA), and LiCoO₂ (LCO), without requiring pre-sorting.Pilot-scale validation using a 5 kg batch of mixed spent LIB cathode and anode active materials confirmed the process′s scalability and consistent high recovery efficiencies, achieving purities exceeding 90 % for all recovered metals.By utilizing low-cost, non-toxic reagents and moderate processing temperatures, this method minimizes hazardous waste generation and operational costs, offering a sustainable and scalable solution for critical metal recovery of spent LIBs.