US-12626931-B2 - System and method for recovering constituents from batteries

Abstract

An apparatus, method and system are provided to recover constituent components from single use batteries. In particular, the apparatus, method and system may be used to recover zinc and manganese in the form of sulfates from depleted commercial which in turn may be subsequently used for other applications, such as micronutrients and fertilizers.

Inventors

• Leslie MCLEAN
• Vaikuntam I. Lakshmanan
• James Ewles
• Ashish Bhandari

Assignees

• ENVIRONMENTAL 360 SOLUTIONS LTD.

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20220623

Claims (17)

1. 1 . An apparatus comprising: a first leach chamber to treat a slurry with a first acid and a first oxidizing agent to form a first solution including first metal ions and second metal ions; a precipitation reactor to receive the first solution from the first leach chamber, wherein the first solution is to be reacted with a first metal oxide and ozone to form a precipitate, wherein the precipitate is to be separated from a portion of the first metal ions remaining dissolved; a first crystallization chamber to crystallize the portion of the first metal ions for collection; a second leach chamber to receive the slurry after treatment by the first leach chamber and the precipitate, wherein the second leach chamber is to treat the precipitate with a second acid and a second oxidizing agent to form a second solution including the first metal ions and the second metal ions; a cementation chamber to receive the second solution from the second leach chamber, wherein the second solution is to be reacted with a reducing agent to form a first metal, wherein the first metal is to be delivered to the first leach chamber; and a second crystallization chamber to crystallize the second metal ions in the second solution for collection.
2. 2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first metal ions in the first leach chamber are zinc ions and the first crystallization chamber is to form a zinc sulfate hydrate.
3. 3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the second metal ions in the first leach chamber are manganese ions and the second crystallization chamber is to form a manganese sulfate hydrate.
4. 4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the reducing agent reacted with the second solution is a metal powder.
5. 5 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the slurry further comprises ground anode and cathode components from one or more depleted batteries.
6. 6 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising one or more separators to separate solids from liquids.
7. 7 . The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein said one or more separators are selected from the group consisting of a gravity trap, a filter, and combinations thereof.
8. 8 . A system to provide zinc sulfate and manganese sulfate from batteries, the system comprising: a grinder to receive the batteries, the grinder to grind the batteries to provide a slurry in a grinding process; a first leach chamber to treat the slurry with sulfuric acid and oxygen to provide a first liquid and a first solid, wherein the first liquid and the first solid are mixed together in the first leach chamber; a second leach chamber to receive the first solid from the first leach chamber, wherein the second leach chamber is to treat the first solid with sulfuric acid and sulfur dioxide to provide a second liquid including zinc ions and manganese ions; a cementation chamber to receive the second liquid from the second leach chamber, wherein the second liquid is to be reacted with a manganese powder to provide zinc metal and a third liquid, wherein the zinc metal is to be transferred to the first leach chamber; a manganese crystallization chamber to receive the third liquid, wherein the manganese crystallization chamber is to form the manganese sulfate for collection; a precipitation reactor to receive the first liquid from the first leach chamber, wherein the first liquid is to be reacted with zinc oxide and ozone to form manganese dioxide and a fourth liquid, wherein the manganese dioxide is to be transferred to the second leach chamber for treatment with the first solid; and a zinc crystallization chamber to receive the fourth liquid, wherein the zinc crystallization chamber is to form the zinc sulfate for collection.
9. 9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the manganese crystallization chamber forms manganese sulfate heptahydrate, the system further comprising a manganese dehydration reactor to remove waters of hydration from the manganese sulfate heptahydrate.
10. 10 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the zinc crystallization chamber forms zinc sulfate heptahydrate, the system further comprising a zinc dehydration reactor to remove waters of hydration from the zinc sulfate heptahydrate.
11. 11 . The system of claim 8 , wherein said grinder further comprises a magnetic separator.
12. 12 . The system of claim 8 , wherein whole batteries are introduced to the grinder to provide a slurry.
13. 13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein said batteries are mechanically opened and separated.
14. 14 . The system of claim 8 , wherein water is added during the grinding process to dissolve potassium hydroxide from the batteries.
15. 15 . The system of claim 8 , further comprising one or more separators wherein said one or more separators are used to separate solids from liquids in the slurry.
16. 16 . The system of claim 15 , wherein said one or more separators are selected from the group consisting of a gravity trap, a filter and combinations thereof.
17. 17 . The system of claim 8 , further comprising a scrubber to remove harmful gas es that are produced from any of the first leach chamber, the second leach chamber, and a dehydration reactor.

Description

FIELD OF USE The present specification relates generally to a system and method of recovering constituents from batteries, and more particularly to recovering constituents from spent batteries as part of a recycling process. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Single use batteries are used in a wide variety of devices. For example, single use batteries may be used for radios, controllers, toys, flashlights, and other small electronic devices. Single use batteries are generally alkaline batteries having a sealed cell and cannot be recharged with a reverse current. Accordingly, upon depletion of the electric charge, these batteries are simply discarded and often end up in landfill disposal sites. Some efforts have been made to recover the constituent components of single use batteries. For example, the battery may be disassembled by mechanically removing the outer casing from the battery cell. The components may then be subjected to a chemical process to separate the remaining constituent solid components of the battery cell. In the case of a single use alkaline batteries, the major constituent solid components of the battery cells are carbon, zinc, potassium, manganese, iron and other compounds. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with an aspect of the invention, an apparatus, method and system are provided to recover constituent components from single use batteries. In particular, the zinc and the manganese may be recovered in the form of sulfates to be subsequently used for other purposes, such as micronutrients and fertilizers. In particular, the claimed apparatus, method and system utilize a first leach chamber to treat a slurry with a first acid and a first oxidizing agent to form a first solution including first metal ions and second metal ions; a precipitation reactor to receive the first solution from the first leach chamber, wherein the first solution is to be reacted with a first metal oxide and a second oxidizing agent to form a precipitate, wherein the precipitate is to be separated from a portion of the first metal ions remaining dissolved; a first crystallization chamber to crystallize the portion of the first metal ions for collection; a second leach chamber to receive the slurry after treatment by the first leach chamber and the precipitate, wherein the second leach chamber is to treat the precipitate with a second acid and a third oxidizing agent to form a second solution including the first metal ions and the second metal ions; a cementation chamber to receive the second solution from the second leach chamber, wherein the second solution is to be reacted with a reducing agent to form a first metal, wherein the first metal is to be delivered to the first leach chamber; and a second crystallization chamber to crystallize the second metal ions in the second solution for collection. Additional features such as a grinder with or without a magnetic separator, dehydration reactors, one or more separators and/or air vents or scrubbers, may be added to the apparatus, method and system as described. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Reference will now be made, by way of example only, to the accompanying drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of an example apparatus to recover metal constituents from a battery; FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an example method of recover metal constituents from a battery; and FIG. 3 is an example of a system to recover metal constituents from a battery. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Although many different types of batteries are used for electronic devices, many devices continue to use primary batteries. For example, a common type of primary battery is an alkaline battery that generates power from the reaction of zinc metal and manganese dioxide. In particular, an alkaline battery cell includes an anode, which generally includes a dispersion of zinc powder in a gel containing a potassium hydroxide electrolyte. This anode is surrounded by a separator which may be a non-woven layer of cellulose (paper) or a synthetic polymer (plastic). Surrounding the separator is a cathode which is generally a compressed paste of manganese dioxide with carbon powder, such as graphite, to increase conductivity within the cell. The anode, separator, and cathode are sealed in a casing, which is normally a ferrous based casing. In addition, the primary batteries typically include other constituents to reduce the negative effects of impurities within the battery. After the primary battery is depleted of power, the batteries are generally discarded. In some instances, the components are recycled and reused; however, the recycling of the batteries is typically not carried out due to the high cost of the process compared with the value of the materials that may be recovered. In addition, conventional chemical processes used to recover constituents from the battery may generate effluent waste streams during the chemical separation processes that may lead to environmental issu