US 11,959,151 B2
Method for separating copper from nickel and cobalt
Tatsuya Higaki, Niihama (JP); Hiroshi Takenouchi, Niihama (JP); Hiroshi Kobayashi, Niihama (JP); and Satoshi Asano, Niihama (JP)
Assigned to SUMITOMO METAL MINING CO., LTD., Tokyo (JP)
Appl. No. 16/641,669
Filed by SUMITOMO METAL MINING CO., LTD., Tokyo (JP)
PCT Filed Aug. 21, 2018, PCT No. PCT/JP2018/030801
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Feb. 25, 2020,
PCT Pub. No. WO2019/064996, PCT Pub. Date Apr. 4, 2019.
Claims priority of application No. 2017-191906 (JP), filed on Sep. 29, 2017.
Prior Publication US 2020/0216929 A1, Jul. 9, 2020
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. C22B 15/00 (2006.01); C22B 3/10 (2006.01)
CPC C22B 15/0052 (2013.01) [C22B 3/10 (2013.01); C22B 15/0056 (2013.01)] 4 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A separation method for separating copper, nickel and cobalt from an alloy obtained by melting and reducing a waste lithium ion battery, the method comprising
producing the alloy in the form of an alloy powder, the alloy powder containing a copper metal, a nickel metal, and a cobalt metal;
adding a sulfurization agent to the alloy powder to establish a state of the sulfurization agent and the alloy powder coexisting;
wherein the sulfurization agent is one or more selected from the group consisting of elemental sulfur, hydrogen sulfide gas, sodium hydrogen sulfide and sodium sulfide; and
bringing the sulfurization agent and the alloy powder coexisting into contact with hydrochloric acid whereby the nickel metal and the cobalt metal are leached from the alloy powder and the copper metal contained in the alloy powder is sulfurized by the sulfurization agent to obtain a solid containing copper sulfide and a leachate containing the nickel existing as an ion and the cobalt existing as an ion.