After a mechanical separation step (plastic/metals), hydrometallurgical processes are used to purify the various metals contained in the cathode. These processes include a lixiviation step that dissolves metallic oxides in an aqueous solution, as well as several precipitation and separation steps to obtain high-purity components.
Because hydrometallurgical processes can be complicated to implement, they aren’t typically the first choice for recycling electric car batteries, for example. Our technical team’s chemical and process expertise were key to our success in executing these steps. That’s how Lithion Recycling was able to develop an innovative process based on hydrometallurgy.