Patents
US 12676351 B2: Method for recovering valuable materials from batteries
- Granted
- 2026-07-07
- Filed
- 2023-07-20 application 18224263
- Type
- Utility · 20 claims
- Elsewhere
- Google Patents ↗ · USPTO patent document ↗ · USPTO Patent Center record ↗
Abstract
A method of recycling batteries includes steps of: shredding the batteries to generate a shredded battery feed material, wetting the shredded battery feed material with an ammonia carbonate lixiviant to generate a slurry, separating the battery feed material in the slurry into a relatively light fraction material slurry and a relatively heavy fraction material slurry, processing the relatively light fraction material slurry in a first counter current ammoniacal leaching and decanting circuit to produce a first pregnant leaching solution including a soluble lithium (Li) component, and processing the relatively heavy fraction material slurry in a second counter current ammoniacal leaching and decanting circuit to produce a second pregnant leaching solution including, if present in the batteries, soluble nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) components and insoluble graphite, iron (Fe), aluminum (Al), manganese (Mn) and rare earth element (REEs) components.
Source: PTBLXML, file of 2026-07-07 (ipgb20260707.xml).
Assignees
| Assignee | Type | Place | Also on furp.org | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Kentucky Research Foundation 446 patents | US company or organization | Lexington, KY | UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY RESEARCH FOUNDATION Nonprofit EXACT high confidence: identical full name and state | PTBLXML, file of 2026-07-07 |
Inventors
| Inventor | Place | Patents | Person page | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joshua Werner | Sadieville, KY | PTBLXML, file of 2026-07-07 | ||
| Lucas Bertucci | Louisville, KY | PTBLXML, file of 2026-07-07 | ||
| Yang-Tse Cheng | Lexington, KY | 20 | PTBLXML, file of 2026-07-07 | |
| Jack Groppo | Nicholasville, KY | PTBLXML, file of 2026-07-07 | ||
| Matthew Weisenberger | Lawrenceburg, KY | PTBLXML, file of 2026-07-07 |
CPC categories
| Subclass | Category | First group | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| H01M | Processes or means, e.g. batteries, for the direct conversion of chemical energy into electrical energy | H01M10/54 | PTBLXML, file of 2026-07-07 |
| C22B | Production and refining of metals ; pretreatment of raw materials | C22B1/02 | PTBLXML, file of 2026-07-07 |
| Y02P | Climate change mitigation technologies in the production or processing of goods | Y02P10/20 | PTBLXML, file of 2026-07-07 |
| Y02W | Climate change mitigation technologies related to wastewater treatment or waste management | Y02W30/84 | PTBLXML, file of 2026-07-07 |
Cooperative Patent Classification, as currently assigned (one row per subclass).
Assignments and security interests
| Recorded | What | From | To | Reel/frame | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-10 | Assignment Assignment of assignor's interest | WERNER, JOSHUA signed 2026-06-09 BERTUCCI, LUCAS signed 2026-02-13 CHENG, YANG-TSE signed 2025-12-11 GROPPO, JACK signed 2026-02-12 WEISENBERGER, MATTHEW signed 2025-12-11 | UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY RESEARCH FOUNDATION LEXINGTON, KY | 74911/379 | PASDL, file of 2026-10-15 |
Documents recorded with the USPTO Assignment Recordation Branch that list this patent. A security interest is a lender’s claim on the patent as collateral; a release ends it.
USPTO bulk data: PatentsView granted patents, disambiguated (PVGPATDIS) for patents, assignees, inventors, places and CPC categories; the USPTO Patent Assignment Dataset (ECORSEXC) for assignments and security interests. Patents filed in the last 20 years. No claims or full text. Links to other records are by name (and state): EXACT means the identical full name and state; FUZZY means a looser name match, with the confidence shown.