{
  "node": {
    "id": "term:solvent-extraction",
    "type": "Term",
    "label": "Solvent extraction",
    "properties": {
      "id": "solvent-extraction",
      "name": "Solvent extraction",
      "abbr": "SX",
      "aka": [
        "liquid–liquid extraction",
        "Cyanex 272",
        "D2EHPA"
      ],
      "section": "topic-recycling",
      "definition": "Separating metals in the leach liquor by contacting it with an organic phase carrying an extractant that picks up one metal at a time, controlled by pH: manganese, then cobalt, then nickel, leaving lithium in the water. It is how recyclers reach battery-grade sulfates.",
      "related": [
        "leaching",
        "precipitation",
        "crystallisation",
        "hydrometallurgy"
      ],
      "url": "https://lemonergy.com/learn/glossary/solvent-extraction/",
      "mentions": [
        "cobalt",
        "manganese"
      ]
    }
  },
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      "source": "term:solvent-extraction",
      "target": "term:hydrometallurgy",
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      "id": "edge:mentions/solvent-extraction/cobalt",
      "source": "term:solvent-extraction",
      "target": "term:cobalt",
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      "target": "term:manganese",
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      "target": "reference:harper-recycling",
      "type": "cites",
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        "scope": "direct technical reference"
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  "neighbors": [
    {
      "id": "topic:topic-recycling",
      "type": "Topic",
      "label": "Recycling and end of life",
      "properties": {
        "id": "topic-recycling",
        "name": "Recycling and end of life",
        "lede": "What happens to a battery after its first life: reuse, and the recycling routes that recover its materials, step by step.",
        "context": "Distinguish recovered material from a qualified product.",
        "example": "High mass recovery alone does not establish battery-grade purity or refining energy demand.",
        "lesson_url": "https://lemonergy.com/learn/fundamentals/cell-production/",
        "lesson_label": "Open process context"
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "term:leaching",
      "type": "Term",
      "label": "Leaching",
      "properties": {
        "id": "leaching",
        "name": "Leaching",
        "aka": [
          "acid leaching",
          "reductive leaching"
        ],
        "section": "topic-recycling",
        "definition": "Dissolving the metals in black mass, usually in sulfuric acid with hydrogen peroxide as a reducing agent so cobalt and manganese go into solution as their more soluble lower oxidation state. The leach liquor carries lithium, nickel, cobalt and manganese, plus impurities such as copper and aluminium.",
        "related": [
          "hydrometallurgy",
          "black-mass",
          "solvent-extraction",
          "impurity-removal",
          "bioleaching",
          "deep-eutectic-solvent"
        ],
        "url": "https://lemonergy.com/learn/glossary/leaching/",
        "mentions": [
          "oxidation",
          "cobalt",
          "manganese"
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "term:precipitation",
      "type": "Term",
      "label": "Precipitation",
      "properties": {
        "id": "precipitation",
        "name": "Precipitation",
        "aka": [
          "hydroxide precipitation",
          "carbonate precipitation"
        ],
        "section": "topic-recycling",
        "definition": "Recovering a dissolved metal as a solid by adding a reagent that makes it insoluble — nickel and cobalt as hydroxides, lithium as carbonate with sodium carbonate. Co-precipitating nickel, manganese and cobalt together gives a precursor directly.",
        "related": [
          "solvent-extraction",
          "lithium-recovery",
          "precursor",
          "crystallisation"
        ],
        "url": "https://lemonergy.com/learn/glossary/precipitation/",
        "mentions": [
          "cobalt",
          "manganese"
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "term:crystallisation",
      "type": "Term",
      "label": "Crystallisation",
      "properties": {
        "id": "crystallisation",
        "name": "Crystallisation",
        "aka": [
          "evaporative crystallisation",
          "nickel sulfate crystallisation"
        ],
        "section": "topic-recycling",
        "definition": "Evaporating a purified solution until a battery-grade salt crystallises out — nickel sulfate, cobalt sulfate, lithium hydroxide — ready to be sold back to precursor and cathode plants.",
        "related": [
          "solvent-extraction",
          "nickel-sulfate",
          "lithium-hydroxide",
          "precursor"
        ],
        "url": "https://lemonergy.com/learn/glossary/crystallisation/",
        "mentions": [
          "cathode",
          "cobalt"
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "term:hydrometallurgy",
      "type": "Term",
      "label": "Hydrometallurgy",
      "properties": {
        "id": "hydrometallurgy",
        "name": "Hydrometallurgy",
        "section": "topic-recycling",
        "definition": "Recycling by dissolving black mass in acid and separating the metals as salts by precipitation and solvent extraction. It recovers lithium and gives battery-grade products, at the cost of chemical consumption and wastewater.",
        "related": [
          "black-mass",
          "pyrometallurgy",
          "direct-recycling",
          "recycling",
          "leaching",
          "solvent-extraction"
        ],
        "url": "https://lemonergy.com/learn/glossary/hydrometallurgy/",
        "mentions": [
          "precipitation"
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "term:cobalt",
      "type": "Term",
      "label": "Cobalt",
      "properties": {
        "id": "cobalt",
        "name": "Cobalt",
        "section": "topic-sustainability",
        "definition": "The metal that stabilises layered-oxide cathodes, mined largely in the Democratic Republic of Congo under scrutiny for working conditions. Its price and ethics have driven the industry from LCO and NMC111 towards high-nickel and cobalt-free LFP.",
        "related": [
          "nmc",
          "lco",
          "high-nickel",
          "critical-raw-materials",
          "due-diligence"
        ],
        "url": "https://lemonergy.com/learn/glossary/cobalt/",
        "mentions": []
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "term:manganese",
      "type": "Term",
      "label": "Manganese",
      "properties": {
        "id": "manganese",
        "name": "Manganese",
        "aka": [
          "manganese sulfate",
          "high-purity manganese sulfate",
          "HPMSM"
        ],
        "section": "topic-sustainability",
        "definition": "A cheap, abundant metal used in NMC, LMO and LMFP positive electrodes and in alkaline cells. Ore comes mostly from South Africa, Gabon and Australia, but about 95 % of battery-grade high-purity manganese sulfate was refined in China in 2024, which puts manganese on critical-raw-material lists despite plentiful reserves.",
        "related": [
          "nmc",
          "lmo",
          "lmfp",
          "critical-raw-materials",
          "cobalt",
          "nickel-sulfate"
        ],
        "url": "https://lemonergy.com/learn/glossary/manganese/",
        "mentions": []
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "reference:harper-recycling",
      "type": "Reference",
      "label": "Recycling lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles",
      "properties": {
        "title": "Recycling lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles",
        "publisher": "Nature",
        "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1682-5",
        "type": "Review article",
        "scope": "Reuse, disassembly and mechanical, hydro-, pyro- and direct recycling routes.",
        "year": 2019,
        "authors": [
          "Gavin Harper et al."
        ],
        "accessed": "2026-10-27"
      }
    }
  ]
}