Hydrometallurgical Technology for Producing Rhenium(VII) and Cobalt(II) from Waste

Abstract

This paper presents a method for obtaining cobalt(II) perrhenate from waste derived from two types of materials, i.e., Li-ion battery scrap, or more precisely, battery mass, and superalloy scrap. Both of the above-mentioned materials are a source of Co. However, a source of rhenium is perrhenic acid produced from ammonium perrhenate (recycled) by the ion exchange method using resins. Co(OH)2 can be precipitated from solutions resulting from the leaching of Li-ion battery mass, sludge from the Zn-Pb industry and superalloy scrap. The compound, after proper purification, can be used in a reaction with perrhenic acid to form Co(ReO4)2. The reaction should be conducted under the following conditions: time 1 h, room temperature, 30% excess of cobalt(II) hydroxide, and rhenium concentration in HReO4 from about 20 g/dm3 to 300 g/dm3. This work shows that with the use of Co(OH)2, obtained from waste, an anhydrous form of cobalt(II) perrhenate can be obtained, containing < 1000 ppm of the cumulative metal impurities.