Process for separating and recycling a spent alkaline battery

1. A method for recycling a spent alkaline battery comprising:

dissolving insoluble metal ions in an aqueous solution thereby producing a pregnant leach solution; wherein the insoluble metal ions comprise at least one of manganese dioxide, manganese hydroxide, manganese oxide, zinc hydroxide, zinc oxide, potassium hydroxide, potassium oxide, and any combination thereof;

extracting zinc sulfate from the aqueous solution thereby producing a zinc sulfate product and a raffinate solution comprising manganese sulfate and potassium sulfate;

separating manganese hydroxide from the raffinate solution thereby producing a manganese sulfate product and an aqueous potassium sulfate solution;

crystallizing the aqueous potassium sulfate solution to produce a solid potassium sulfate product.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein dissolving the insoluble metal ions in an aqueous solution further comprises:

reacting manganese dioxide with sulfur dioxide to produce a soluble manganese sulfate;

reacting manganese hydroxide, zinc hydroxide, and potassium hydroxide with sulfuric acid to produce additional soluble manganese sulfate, soluble zinc sulfate, and soluble potassium sulfate.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein extracting zinc metal ions further comprises:

contacting the aqueous solution with an organic solution to produce a loaded organic phase and the raffinate solution;

contacting the loaded organic phase with an aqueous solution comprising an inorganic acid to produce a zinc rich organic phase; and

contacting the zinc rich organic phase with dilute sulfuric acid to produce the zinc sulfate product.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the organic solution comprises a water-immiscible organic solvent selected from the group consisting of kerosene, benzene, toluene, xylene, and any combination thereof, and a metal extracting agent selected from the group consisting of di-2-ethylhexyl phosphoric acid, dinonyl phenyl phosphoric acid, 2-ethylhexyl phosphonic acid mono-2-ethylhexyl ester, bis-2,4,4-trimethylpentyl phosphinic acid, bis-2,4,4-trimethylpentyl-dithiophosphinic acid, bis-2,4,4-trimethylpentyl-monothiophosphinic acid, trioctylphosphine oxide, trialkylphosphine oxides, triisobutylphosphine sulfide, octyl-phenyl-N,N-diisobutyl-carbamoylmethylphosphine oxides, octyl phenyl acid phosphate, tributyl phosphate, and any combinations thereof.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein separating the manganese hydroxide further comprises:

reacting the raffinate solution with a neutralizing agent thereby adjusting the pH of the raffinate solution to about 9 or greater;

separating insoluble manganese hydroxide from aqueous potassium sulfate;

reacting the insoluble manganese hydroxide with an acid to produce liquid manganese sulfate;

drying the liquid manganese sulfate; and

granulating the manganese sulfate to produce a solid manganese sulfate product.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the neutralizing agent is selected from the group consisting of potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, potassium carbonate, sodium carbonate, limestone, dolomitic lime, lime, calcium carbonate, and any combinations thereof, and wherein the acid is selected from the group consisting of sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, nitric acid or hydrochloric acid, and any combinations thereof.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein separating the manganese hydroxide further comprises:

contacting the raffinate solution with an organic solution to produce a loaded organic phase and the aqueous potassium sulfate solution;

contacting the loaded organic phase with an aqueous solution comprising an inorganic acid to produce a manganese rich organic phase; and

contacting the manganese rich organic phase with a dilute acid to produce the manganese sulfate product.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein crystallizing the aqueous potassium sulfate further comprises:

evaporating the aqueous potassium sulfate; and

crystallizing the evaporated potassium sulfate to produce the solid potassium sulfate product.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

packaging the zinc sulfate product, the manganese sulfate product, and the solid potassium sulfate product;

transporting the packaged products to a second processing facility, wherein the second processing facility produces agricultural products;

adding the packaged products to the second processing facility to produce an agricultural product.