Document Type : Original Research Paper
Authors
School of Mining Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
In this research work, with a simple, safe, and environmentally friendly approach to hydrometallurgy, a method for the recovery of lithium (Li), cobalt (Co), and nickel (Ni) from LIBs is suggested. The cathode materials are leached by malonic acid, as the leaching agent, and ascorbic acid, as the reducing agent in the first process, and by L-glutamic acid, as the leaching agent, and ascorbic acid, as the reducing agent in the second process. In order to optimize the leaching parameters including temperature, organic acid concentration, ascorbic acid concentration, type of organic acid, pulp density, and time, response surface methodology (RSM) of the experimental design process is used. According to the results, compared to L-glutamic acid in the second process, the leaching recovery increase considerably with malonic acid in the first process. This normally occurs due to the higher solubility of malonic acid in water, which results in a better complexation and a higher chelation rate. By contrast, as solubility of L-glutamic acid in water is low, metal-acid surface reaction and poor complexation are unavoidable. According to the statistical analysis of the results and validation testing, optimal experimental leaching occurs at the reaction temperature of 88 °C, organic acid concentration of 0.25 M, ascorbic acid concentration of 0.03 M, pulp density of 10 g/L, and leaching time of 2 h, via which metal recovery of 100% Li, 81% Co, and 99% Ni is achieved. Before and after acidic leaching, the sample active materials are qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed using X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, particle size analyzer, scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and atomic absorption spectroscopy.
Keywords
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