Patents by Inventor Kee Chan Kim

Kee Chan Kim has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20250070290
    Abstract: A method of producing a cathode material precursor having low levels of Cu impurities is described. Heat treating a black mass from a recycled lithium-ion battery stream, wherein the black mass comprises copper metal and cathode material comprising nickel, followed by leaching of the heat-treated black mass with an aqueous acid forms an acidic aqueous leach solution comprising nickel metal, cathode metal salts, and copper salts. The copper salts have been found to react with the nickel metal in the aqueous leach solution to form copper metal, which can be readily removed from the acidic aqueous leach solution. Coprecipitation of the cathode metal salts and the nickel salts form nearly Cu-free cathode material precursor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 24, 2023
    Publication date: February 27, 2025
    Inventors: Kee-Chan Kim, Eric Gratz
  • Publication number: 20250070291
    Abstract: Recycling of lithium-ion batteries includes the steps of leaching a black mass including cathode and anode materials with a leaching agent, optionally including an oxidizing agent or reducing agent, to form an aqueous acidic leach solution of metal salts comprising metal salts and a plurality of impurity salts. The impurity salts are removed in various purification phases including treating with an oxygen-containing gas and optional electrodeposition and ion exchange steps, each at specified pH ranges. The amounts of the metal salts in the treated aqueous acidic leach solution are then adjusted to a desired ratio and coprecipitated to form a precursor cathode active material.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 24, 2023
    Publication date: February 27, 2025
    Inventors: Eric Gratz, Kee-Chan Kim, Amir Nazari, Bebel Villar
  • Publication number: 20250070292
    Abstract: A recycling process for cathode material of a Li-ion battery generates highly pure cathode material precursor from a leaching process using either heat treatment or an oxidizing agent. The highly pure cathode material includes cathode material metallic elements of Ni, Mn and Co, leached from a granular recycling stream of waste batteries, by a coprecipitation process that defines a molar ratio of the cathode material metals corresponding to a prescribed battery chemistry. The result is a precursor cathode active material (pCAM) in a form that may be sintered with lithium (typically lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide) to form the cathode active material for the recycled battery, including the charge material metals in the prescribed ratio.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 24, 2023
    Publication date: February 27, 2025
    Inventors: Kee-Chan Kim, Eric Gratz
  • Publication number: 20240413421
    Abstract: Cathode material from exhausted lithium ion batteries are dissolved in a solution for extracting the useful elements Co (cobalt), Ni (nickel), Al (Aluminum) and Mn (manganese) to produce active cathode materials for new batteries. The solution includes compounds of desirable materials such as cobalt, nickel, aluminum and manganese dissolved as compounds from the exhausted cathode material of spent cells. Depending on a desired proportion, or ratio, of the desired materials, raw materials are added to the solution to achieve the desired ratio of the commingled compounds for the recycled cathode material for new cells. The desired materials precipitate out of solution without extensive heating or separation of the desired materials into individual compounds or elements. The resulting active cathode material has the predetermined ratio for use in new cells, and avoids high heat typically required to separate the useful elements because the desired materials remain commingled in solution.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 14, 2024
    Publication date: December 12, 2024
    Inventors: Yan Wang, Eric Gratz, Qina Sa, Zhangfeng Zheng, Joseph Heelan, Kee-Chan Kim
  • Publication number: 20240363914
    Abstract: A battery recycling process recovers lithium from nickel-rich cathode material in a recycling stream of end-of-life batteries. A dilute acid leach of a high nickel content cathode material contains a mixture of sulfuric acid based on a molar quantity of lithium in the cathode material. The highly selective leach generates a lithium rich solution with a small amount of nickel removable by nanofiltration to achieve a highly efficient recovery of the lithium contained in the recycling stream. A quantity of the leach acid based on the lithium content and a quantity of water based on a total black mass of the recycling stream results in a highly selective, near pure lithium leach when the recycling stream results from high nickel NMC batteries such as 811.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 11, 2024
    Publication date: October 31, 2024
    Inventors: Kee-Chan Kim, Eric Gratz
  • Publication number: 20240304883
    Abstract: A recycling method for generating purified lithium salts from a recycling stream of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries includes leaching black mass from the recycling stream in an aqueous solution of an oxidizing agent. Delithiated black mass is filtered from the aqueous solution to generate a Li-rich leach solution, which is subjected to nanofiltration to form a nanofiltration permeate from which the purified lithium salt is obtained.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 7, 2024
    Publication date: September 12, 2024
    Inventors: Kee-Chan Kim, Eric Gratz, Benoit Tranape
  • Patent number: 12074302
    Abstract: Cathode material from exhausted lithium ion batteries are dissolved in a solution for extracting the useful elements Co (cobalt), Ni (nickel), Al (Aluminum) and Mn (manganese) to produce active cathode materials for new batteries. The solution includes compounds of desirable materials such as cobalt, nickel, aluminum and manganese dissolved as compounds from the exhausted cathode material of spent cells. Depending on a desired proportion, or ratio, of the desired materials, raw materials are added to the solution to achieve the desired ratio of the commingled compounds for the recycled cathode material for new cells. The desired materials precipitate out of solution without extensive heating or separation of the desired materials into individual compounds or elements. The resulting active cathode material has the predetermined ratio for use in new cells, and avoids high heat typically required to separate the useful elements because the desired materials remain commingled in solution.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2024
    Assignee: Worcester Polytechnic Institute
    Inventors: Yan Wang, Eric Gratz, Qina Sa, Zhangfeng Zheng, Joseph Heelan, Kee-Chan Kim
  • Patent number: 12071677
    Abstract: The inventions described herein provide methods and systems for recycling lithium iron phosphate batteries, including: adding an oxidizing agent to a recycling stream of lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries to form a leach solution; filtering the leach solution to remove a residue and obtain a lithium rich solution; modifying pH of the lithium rich solution for filtering impurities and obtaining a purified Li solution; and adding a precipitant to the purified Li solution thereby precipitating a lithium compound.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2024
    Assignee: Ascend Elements, Inc.
    Inventors: Eric Gratz, Kee-Chan Kim
  • Patent number: 12040463
    Abstract: A battery recycling process recovers lithium from nickel-rich cathode material in a recycling stream of end-of-life batteries. A dilute acid leach of a high nickel content cathode material contains a mixture of sulfuric acid based on a molar quantity of lithium in the cathode material. The highly selective leach generates a lithium rich solution with a small amount of nickel removable by nanofiltration to achieve a highly efficient recovery of the lithium contained in the recycling stream. A quantity of the leach acid based on the lithium content and a quantity of water based on a total black mass of the recycling stream results in a highly selective, near pure lithium leach when the recycling stream results from high nickel NMC batteries such as 811.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2022
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2024
    Assignee: Ascend Elements, Inc.
    Inventors: Kee-Chan Kim, Eric Gratz
  • Publication number: 20240170749
    Abstract: Recycling of charge material for an NMC (Ni, Mn, Co) battery recovers lithium from a recycled battery stream by roasting a black mass from the recycled stream in a partial oxygen environment at a temperature based on the thermal reduction of cathode material and reacting carbon in an anode material with lithium in the cathode material, and then leaching the lithium from the roasted black mass for forming a lithium leach solution. Lithium is recovered by heating the lithium leach solution, precipitating the lithium carbonate based on decreased solubility of the leached lithium carbonate at the increased temperature.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 18, 2022
    Publication date: May 23, 2024
    Inventors: Kee-Chan Kim, Eric Gratz
  • Patent number: 11955613
    Abstract: Cathode material from exhausted lithium ion batteries are dissolved in a solution for extracting the useful elements Co (cobalt), Ni (nickel), Al (Aluminum) and Mn (manganese) to produce active cathode materials for new batteries. The solution includes compounds of desirable materials such as cobalt, nickel, aluminum and manganese dissolved as compounds from the exhausted cathode material of spent cells. Depending on a desired proportion, or ratio, of the desired materials, raw materials are added to the solution to achieve the desired ratio of the commingled compounds for the recycled cathode material for new cells. The desired materials precipitate out of solution without extensive heating or separation of the desired materials into individual compounds or elements. The resulting active cathode material has the predetermined ratio for use in new cells, and avoids high heat typically required to separate the useful elements because the desired materials remain commingled in solution.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: Worcester Polytechnic Institute
    Inventors: Yan Wang, Eric Gratz, Qina Sa, Zhangfeng Zheng, Joseph Heelan, Kee-Chan Kim
  • Publication number: 20240113350
    Abstract: A battery recycling process recovers lithium from nickel-rich cathode material in a recycling stream of end-of-life batteries. A dilute acid leach of a high nickel content cathode material contains a mixture of sulfuric acid based on a molar quantity of lithium in the cathode material. The highly selective leach generates a lithium rich solution with a small amount of nickel removable by nanofiltration to achieve a highly efficient recovery of the lithium contained in the recycling stream. A quantity of the leach acid based on the lithium content and a quantity of water based on a total black mass of the recycling stream results in a highly selective, near pure lithium leach when the recycling stream results from high nickel NMC batteries such as 811.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 12, 2022
    Publication date: April 4, 2024
    Inventors: Kee-Chan Kim, Eric Gratz
  • Publication number: 20240113349
    Abstract: Recycling of nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries extracts substantially pure nickel based on adding a leach agent to granular cathode material resulting from agitation of the NiMH batteries to form a leach solution. A pH of the leach solution is maintained for precipitating iron, aluminum and lanthanide rare earth elements (REE) for yielding a nickel solution for forming a cathode material precursor in a recycled battery, often with a high nickel content.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 30, 2022
    Publication date: April 4, 2024
    Inventor: Kee-Chan Kim
  • Publication number: 20230038978
    Abstract: The inventions described herein provide methods and systems for recycling lithium iron phosphate batteries, including: adding an oxidizing agent to a recycling stream of lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries to form a leach solution; filtering the leach solution to remove a residue and obtain a lithium rich solution; modifying pH of the lithium rich solution for filtering impurities and obtaining a purified Li solution; and adding a precipitant to the purified Li solution thereby precipitating a lithium compound.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 2, 2022
    Publication date: February 9, 2023
    Inventors: Eric Gratz, Kee-Chan Kim
  • Publication number: 20220311068
    Abstract: Cathode material from exhausted lithium ion batteries are dissolved in a solution for extracting the useful elements Co (cobalt), Ni (nickel), Al (Aluminum) and Mn (manganese) to produce active cathode materials for new batteries. The solution includes compounds of desirable materials such as cobalt, nickel, aluminum and manganese dissolved as compounds from the exhausted cathode material of spent cells. Depending on a desired proportion, or ratio, of the desired materials, raw materials are added to the solution to achieve the desired ratio of the commingled compounds for the recycled cathode material for new cells. The desired materials precipitate out of solution without extensive heating or separation of the desired materials into individual compounds or elements. The resulting active cathode material has the predetermined ratio for use in new cells, and avoids high heat typically required to separate the useful elements because the desired materials remain commingled in solution.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 15, 2022
    Publication date: September 29, 2022
    Inventors: Yan Wang, Eric Gratz, Qina Sa, Zhangfeng Zheng, Joseph Heelan, Kee-Chan Kim
  • Publication number: 20210391606
    Abstract: Cathode material from exhausted lithium ion batteries are dissolved in a solution for extracting the useful elements Co (cobalt), Ni (nickel), Al (Aluminum) and Mn (manganese) to produce active cathode materials for new batteries. The solution includes compounds of desirable materials such as cobalt, nickel, aluminum and manganese dissolved as compounds from the exhausted cathode material of spent cells. Depending on a desired proportion, or ratio, of the desired materials, raw materials are added to the solution to achieve the desired ratio of the commingled compounds for the recycled cathode material for new cells. The desired materials precipitate out of solution without extensive heating or separation of the desired materials into individual compounds or elements. The resulting active cathode material has the predetermined ratio for use in new cells, and avoids high heat typically required to separate the useful elements because the desired materials remain commingled in solution.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 26, 2021
    Publication date: December 16, 2021
    Inventors: Yan Wang, Eric Gratz, Qina Sa, Zhangfeng Zheng, Joseph Heelan, Kee-Chan Kim
  • Patent number: 8710253
    Abstract: Solution-based precursors for use as starting materials in film deposition processes, such as atomic layer deposition, chemical vapor deposition and metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. The solution-based precursors allow for the use of otherwise solid precursors that would be unsuitable for vapor phase deposition processes because of their tendency to decompose and solidify during vaporization.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2014
    Assignee: Linde Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Ce Ma, Kee-Chan Kim, Graham Anthony McFarlane
  • Publication number: 20120178953
    Abstract: Solution-based precursors for use as starting materials in film deposition processes, such as atomic layer deposition, chemical vapor deposition and metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. The solution-based precursors allow for the use of otherwise solid precursors that would be unsuitable for vapor phase deposition processes because of their tendency to decompose and solidify during vaporization.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 1, 2010
    Publication date: July 12, 2012
    Inventors: Ce Ma, Kee-Chan Kim, Graham Anthony McFarlane
  • Publication number: 20100290945
    Abstract: Oxygen free, solution based zirconium precursors for use in ALD processes are disclosed for growing ZrO2 or other Zr compound films in a self-limiting and conformal manner. An oxygen free, solution based ALD precursor of (t-BuCp)2ZrMC2 is particular useful for depositing ZrO2 or other Zr compound films.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 13, 2009
    Publication date: November 18, 2010
    Inventors: Ce MA, Kee-Chan Kim, Graham Anthony McFarlane
  • Publication number: 20100290968
    Abstract: Oxygen free cyclopentadienyl solvent based precursor formulations having the general formula: (R1R2R3R4R5Cp)3*M wherein R1, R2, R3, R4, and R5 are H or hydrocarbon CnHm (n=1 to 10, m=1 to 2n+1), Cp is cyclopentadienyl and M is an element from the lanthanide series or Group III materials.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 13, 2009
    Publication date: November 18, 2010
    Inventors: Ce MA, Kee-Chan Kim, Graham Anthony McFarlane