Battery-grade Mn, Co, and Ni recovery from leach solutions
This technology provides a step-by-step chemical process to extract and purify three valuable metals — manganese, cobalt, and nickel — from liquid mixtures produced during mining or battery recycling. It combines multiple precipitation stages with sulfide chemistry and solvent extraction to systematically strip away impurities and isolate each metal at high purity. The result is refined metal compounds that can feed directly into battery material supply chains or industrial chemical manufacturing. Think of it as a refinery-in-a-procedure for metals that are otherwise difficult and expensive to separate cleanly.
What you could build
A licensed processing module or contract refining service for battery recyclers and mining companies seeking to produce battery-grade Mn, Co, and Ni precursor materials domestically; primary buyers would be black-mass recyclers, EV battery material suppliers, and mining firms processing mixed-metal leachates.
Who in Virginia should care
Defense and energy supply chain firms in Virginia focused on critical mineral independence, as well as any battery recycling operations serving DoD or automotive customers in the mid-Atlantic region, would have direct interest.
Readiness: Lab validated
Concept — described but not yet demonstrated. Lab validated — supported by experimental results in the patent. Prototype likely — the text describes a built, working embodiment.
Readiness is inferred from the patent text, not from a lab visit.
The record
- Inventors
- Rick HONAKER, Wencai ZHANG, Li QI
- Filed
- Patent pending — filed June 26, 2024
- Status
- Application
- Publication number
- US20240344170A1
Ready to talk?
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties handles licensing for this technology.
Prosim summaries are generated from public patent text and are not legal advice.