Method for removing iron from iron-containing solution and method for recovering valuable metals

• US 10,443,111 B2
• Filed: 03/29/2016
• Issued: 10/15/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: JX Advanced Metals Corporation (JX Metals Corp)
• Original Assignee: JX Nippon Mining & Metals Corporation (ENEOS Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Arakawa, Junichi, Ito, Junichi, Yokota, Takuya
• Primary Examiner(s): McGuthry-Banks, Tima M.
• Application Number:
  US15/563,478
• Publication Number:
  US 20180073098A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,295 Days
• CPC Class Codes: C01G 45/02 Oxides; Hydroxides
• CPC Class Codes: C01G 49/02 Oxides; Hydroxides C01G49/0018 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C22B 23/00 Obtaining nickel or cobalt
• CPC Class Codes: C22B 3/08 Sulfuric acid , other sulfurated acids or salts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: C22B 3/44 by chemical processes treatment or purification of solutions by liquid-liquid extraction C22B3/26, by ion-exchange extraction C22B3/42
• CPC Class Codes: C22B 47/00 Obtaining manganese
• CPC Class Codes: C22B 7/00 Working up raw materials other than ores, e.g. scrap, to produce non-ferrous metals and compounds thereof; Methods of a general interest or applied to the winning of more than two metals briquetting of scrap C22B1/248; preliminary treatment of scrap C22B1/005
• CPC Class Codes: C22B 7/007 by acid leaching
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/54 Reclaiming serviceable parts of waste accumulators
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 10/20 Recycling
• CPC Class Codes: Y02W 30/84 Recycling of batteries or fuel cells

Abstract

The present invention provides a method for removing iron from an iron-containing solution containing an iron ion, comprising adding a lithium ion battery cathode material containing manganese to an acidic sulfuric acid solution to obtain a cathode material-containing solution, and then precipitating a manganese ion as manganese dioxide in a mixed solution obtained by mixing the iron-containing solution with the cathode material-containing solution while precipitating the iron ion contained in the iron-containing solution as a solid.

Claims

1. A method for removing iron from an iron-containing solution containing an iron ion, comprising:

adding a lithium ion battery cathode material containing manganese to an acidic sulfuric acid solution to obtain a cathode material-containing solution, and then precipitating a manganese ion as manganese dioxide in a mixed solution obtained by mixing the iron-containing solution with the cathode material-containing solution while precipitating the iron ion contained in the iron-containing solution as a solid.

2. The method for removing iron from the iron-containing solution according to claim 1, wherein an iron ion concentration in the iron-containing solution is from 50 mg/L to 1 g/L.

3. The method for removing iron from the iron-containing solution according to claim 1, wherein a pH of the mixed solution obtained by mixing the iron-containing solution with the cathode material-containing solution is from 1 to 2.

4. The method for removing iron from the iron-containing solution according to claim 1, wherein an oxidation-reduction potential value of the mixed solution obtained by mixing the iron-containing solution with the cathode material-containing solution is 900 mV or more.

5. The method for removing iron from the iron-containing solution according to claim 1, wherein hydrogen peroxide water is added when the lithium ion battery cathode material containing manganese is leached.

6. The method for removing iron from the iron-containing solution according to claim 1, wherein manganese dioxide is added to the mixed solution obtained by mixing the iron-containing solution with the cathode material-containing solution.

7. The method for removing iron from the iron-containing solution according to claim 6, wherein manganese dioxide added to the mixed solution is manganese dioxide contained in a leached residue of a lithium ion battery cathode material containing manganese.

8. The method for removing iron from the iron-containing solution according to claim 1, wherein the lithium ion battery cathode material further comprises, in addition to manganese, at least one cathode material-forming metal making up the lithium ion battery cathode material, and wherein the iron-containing solution further comprises the cathode material-forming metal before mixed with the cathode material-containing solution.

9. The method for removing iron from the iron-containing solution according to claim 8, wherein the at least one cathode material-forming metal is cobalt and/or nickel.

10. A method for recovering at least one valuable metal from at least one cathode material-forming metal contained in a lithium ion battery cathode material and an iron-containing solution by using the method for removing iron from the iron-containing solution according to claim 8, comprising:

carrying out the method for removing iron from the iron-containing solution, and then recovering the at least one valuable metal in the iron-containing solution as well as the at least one valuable metal in the lithium ion battery cathode material.