Patent ID: 8586218

Claim:
A process for the recovery of high purity manganese oxides, zinc compounds and steel from alkaline batteries which comprises the steps of; a) washing crushed alkaline batteries with an aqueous stream to form a slurry and steel particles; b) screening the steel particles from step a); c) separating the resultant slurry from step b); d) treating the solids from step c) with sulfuric acid to dissolve zinc hydroxide which is formed to provide a zinc sulfate solution and filtering and neutralizing; the zinc sulfate solution to a pH of 3-5 ; e) oxidizing the zinc sulfate solution of step d) with an oxidizing agent or air to convert any iron to ferric hydroxide and soluble manganese compound present to an insoluble manganese oxide; f) filtering to provide a filtrate; g) treating the filtrate from step f) with an alkali carbonate or ammonium carbonate to a pH of about 8 to precipitate zinc hydroxyl carbonate, and h) recovering zinc hydroxycarbonate.