A process has been developed in order to recover and recycle the metals present in spent batteries, including alkaline spent batteries alone or mixed with other types of spent batteries. This method shows a good potential in terms of metals recoveries efficiencies and 
economic feasibility. Firstly, the spent batteries are crushed (optionally after having been frozen in the case of spent batteries of mixed types). Then, the undesirable parts (plastics, steel cases, papers, etc.) are removed by screening. The collected 
powder, containing the metals, is mixed with a solution of 
sulfuric acid in the presence of a 
reducing agent. The 
solid / liquid separation is carried out by 
filtration and the 
leachate is purified in order to selectively recover the metals. The purification steps consist of: a) recovering Zn by 
solvent extraction followed by an 
electrowinning process; b) simultaneously recovering Mn and Cd by 
solvent extraction process; c) selectively recovering Cd from the mixture solution of Cd and Mn by 
electrowinning process; d) precipitating Mn from a pure solution of MnSO4 in a 
carbonate form; e) removing the impurities present in the 
effluent by 
solvent extraction in order to obtain a pure NiSO4 solution; f) precipitating Ni from a NiSO4 solution in a 
carbonate form.