With the retirement of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) entering peak period, the recycling of LiCoO2 has become a hot topic. The spent LiCoO2 batteries are rich in carcinogenic metal Co and high-value metal Li, so they are needed to be recovered in time before causing serious environmental pollution and resource waste. Thus, a clean and efficient process is proposed for the comprehensive recovery of Li, Co, and Mn from the spent LiCoO2 cathode material. It is an integrated pyro-hydrometallurgical process, mainly consisting of sulfation roasting with NH4HSO4 and selective sulfurizing leaching with (NH4)2S solution. Using low melting point ammonium salt as roasting auxiliary, 99.7 %, 99.1 %, and 99.8 % of Li, Co, and Mn in the spent LiCoO2 powder can be converted into sulfate when roasting under 400 degree celsius for 75 min. Then 99.5 % of Li in the sulfation roasting product can be selectively leached with an aqueous (NH4)2S solution, which is also a precipitator for Co, Mn, and impurity Al. In addition, 96.4 % of Co and 96.0 % of Mn in the sulfurized precipitate can be separated with impurity elements Al and C via oxidation roasting-water leaching process. Compared to traditional recycling, this method can achieve a higher Li leaching rate at a low roasting temperature, and the recovery of Co and Mn can be realized without adding any acid/base reagents or impurity cations. More importantly, the circulation of NH3/NH4+ and S element in the recycling system has been taken into account, making it an environmental-friendly and economical process. In this study, the sulfation reduction roasting and selective sulfurizing leaching mechanisms were both revealed in details, and the behavior of the valuable elements was also elucidated.
