NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN RECYCLING OF LITHIUM CHEMICAL SOURCES OF ELECTRIC CURRENT AND PRODUCTION OF LITHIUM SALTS SUITABLE FOR ALUMINOTHERMIC REDUCTION

摘要

The ranges of application and production of lithium are continuously expanding. In recent years the most dynamic area has been that of the production of lithium chemical sources of electric current. The demand for metallic lithium as a fraction of the overall balance of utilization of lithium has been steadily growing and the volume of lithium waste has been increasing. Thus, we are now facing the need to recycle lithium wastes and develop a technology for producing lithium from reusable lithium-containing products. A process flow technology for treatment of lithium current sources is proposed on the basis of studies carried out at the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys on reuse of lithium-containing wastes. The technology consists in stripping of the element casing; leaching of the cathode mass and anode blocks with production of lithium-containing solutions and manganese dioxide; precipitation of lithium from solutions in the form of lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxodialuminate (LHDA); synthesis of lithium aluminates by sintering of lithium carbonate with LHDA; and aluminothermic reduction of lithium aluminates in a vacuum with fabrication of metallic lithium.