Leaching agent and method for leaching and recycling spent ternary cathode materials
By using leaching agents containing hydrogen-bonded complexes and viscosity modifiers, the problem of high-temperature, high-solid-to-liquid ratio in waste cathode materials was solved, achieving efficient leaching at low temperatures and with low leaching agent dosage, reducing costs and pollution, and improving recycling efficiency.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- WO · WO
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- CENT SOUTH UNIV
- Filing Date
- 2026-01-22
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-30
AI Technical Summary
Existing leaching processes for waste cathode materials require high temperatures or mechanical activation, and the leaching liquid-to-solid ratio is high, resulting in high process costs, large reagent consumption, and serious secondary pollution.
The leaching agent, composed of hydrogen-bonded complexes and viscosity modifiers, forms a eutectic through hydrogen bonding. Combined with the joint control of component ratios, it achieves efficient leaching at low temperature and low liquid-to-solid ratio, and the leaching agent can be recycled.
It achieves excellent leaching results at low temperatures and with low leaching agent dosage, reducing process costs, minimizing secondary pollution, and improving leaching efficiency and recycling value.
Smart Images
Figure CN2026074107_30072026_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Claims
1. A leaching agent for leaching waste ternary cathode materials, characterized in that, It consists of hydrogen-bonded complexes and viscosity modifiers; The hydrogen-bonded complex is composed of formula A and formula B; Formula A Formula B The viscosity modifier is water; The molar ratio of Formula A, Formula B, and viscosity modifier is 1~3:1~3:6~16.
2. The leaching agent for leaching waste ternary cathode materials as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The molar ratio of Formula A, Formula B, and viscosity modifier is 1:0.9~1.1:7.5~8.
5.
3. The leaching agent for leaching waste ternary cathode materials as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The viscosity of the leaching agent is 25~60 mPs.
4. The leaching agent for leaching waste ternary cathode materials as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The viscosity of the leaching agent is 35~45 mPs.
5. A method for leaching waste ternary cathode material, characterized in that, Waste ternary cathode material is mixed with any one of the leaching agents of claims 1 to 4 and subjected to leaching treatment to obtain leachate.
6. The method for leaching waste ternary cathode material as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The waste ternary cathode material is a waste lithium-containing nickel-cobalt-manganese oxide obtained by stripping from the positive electrode of a waste lithium-ion battery.
7. The method for leaching waste ternary cathode material as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The temperature during the leaching process is above 15℃.
8. The method for leaching waste ternary cathode material as described in claim 7, characterized in that, The temperature during the leaching process is 20~35℃.
9. The method for leaching waste ternary cathode material as described in claim 5, characterized in that, During the leaching stage, the weight ratio of waste ternary cathode material to leaching agent is 1:1~5.
10. The method for leaching waste ternary cathode material as described in claim 9, characterized in that, During the leaching stage, the weight ratio of waste ternary cathode material to leaching agent is 1:2.5~3.
5.
11. The method for leaching waste ternary cathode material as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The leaching time is more than 2 hours.
12. The method for leaching waste ternary cathode material as described in claim 11, characterized in that, The leaching time is 8-15 hours.
13. A method for recovering leaching elements from waste ternary cathode materials, characterized in that, Using the method described in any one of claims 5 to 12, a leachate is obtained, a transition metal precipitant is added to the leachate, and solid-liquid separation is performed to obtain a transition metal precipitate residue and lithium liquid. The lithium liquid was then subjected to lithium precipitation treatment to obtain lithium slag.
14. The method for recovering leaching elements from waste ternary cathode materials as described in claim 13, characterized in that, The leachate is pre-treated to remove impurities before adding a transition metal precipitant.
15. The method for recovering leaching elements from waste ternary cathode materials as described in claim 14, characterized in that, The impurity removal process includes controlling the pH of the leachate to 3.8-7.5 and then performing solid-liquid separation.
16. The method for recovering leaching elements from waste ternary cathode materials as described in claim 13, characterized in that, The transition metal precipitant is oxalic acid and its water-soluble salt.
17. The method for recovering leaching elements from waste ternary cathode materials as described in claim 13, characterized in that, The lithium precipitation method is either a process of adding water-soluble carbonates to precipitate the lithium, or a process of introducing carbon dioxide to precipitate the lithium.