Solvent Extraction of Co, Ni and Mn from NCM Sulfate Leaching Solution of Li(NCM)O2 Secondary Battery Scraps

As a part of the study on recycling Li(NCM)O₂ lithium-ion battery scraps, solvent extraction experiments were performed using different extraction agents such as PC88A, Cyanex272 and D2EHPA to separate Co, Ni and Mn from the leaching solution. When the ratio of Mn to Ni was about 0.4 in the leaching solution, the separation factor for Co and Mn was found to be less than 10 so that the separation of Co and Ni was insufficient. When solvent extraction was done using the solution with the lower Mn/Ni ratio of 0.05 where Mn was removed by potassium permanganate and chlorine dioxide, more than 99% of Mn could be extracted through five courses of extraction using 30vol% D2EHPA while the extraction rates of Co and Ni were around 17% and 11%, respectively. In the case that Mn was removed from the solution, the extraction rate of Co was higher than 99% whereas less than 7% Ni was extracted using Cyanex272 suggesting that Co and Ni elements were effectively separated.