Hydrometallurgical Recovery of Rare Metals
A novel recovery process for cobalt from used batteries by utilizing the precipitation of gel phase
Hydrometallurgical process is the process which involves water and is operated at relatively low temperature (up to 300 degree C). Fundamental experiment was carried out in order to develop a novel recovery process for cobalt (Co) from the used lithium ion batteries (LIB). In our process, cobalt ion in acidic aqueous solution selectively precipitates as gel phase by adding polyethyleneglycol (PEG) and potassium thiocyanate (KSCN) as gelator, while nickel and other impurities remain in the aqueous solution. We are aiming to apply this gelation method to recover various metals by understanding its mechanism.
