(609b) Extractive Recovery of valuable Metals from Li-ion Battery Scrap

Liquid-liquid extraction is a widely used separation method for an extensive range of metals including actinides. The Gibbs energy minimization (GEM) method is used to compute the complex chemical equilibria for the acidified aqueous uranyl nitrate solution by a mixture of tri-n-butyl phosphate (TBP) and organic at room temperature. The organic phase is treated as an ideal mixture defined by eight TBP complexes plus the inert diluent. The Pitzer method is used to capture non-idealities in the concentrated uranyl nitrate, which is the electrolyte phase. The generated extraction isotherms are in good agreement with reported experimental data for various TBP loadings and electrolyte concentrations demonstrating the adequacy of this approach to analyze complex multiphase multicomponent systems. The model is robust and yet flexible allowing for expansion to other LLE systems and coupling with computational tools for parameter analysis and optimization.