Kinetics of Zn-C Battery Leaching with Choline Chloride/Urea Natural Deep Eutectic Solvents

A choline chloride/urea natural deep eutectic solvent (ChCl NADES) was prepared via a green chemistry method and used to leach Zn and Mn oxides from conventional Zn-C scrap batteries. FTIR and H-1 NMR spectroscopy were used to characterize the NADES. The leaching kinetics of the Zn and Mn oxides was monitored at isothermal conditions (80, 100, 125, and 150 degrees C) and at two solid/NADES ratios: 3.3 and 10 g dm(-3). It was possible to dissolve Zn and Mn oxides under all of tested conditions, reaching more than a 95% recovery for both metals at 150 degrees C after 90 min, whereas, at 25 degrees C, it was possible to leach up to 90% of the Zn and 30% of the Mn after 4320 min (72 h). Furthermore, the leaching kinetics was controlled by the boundary layer, coincident with a shrinking core model. According to the Arrhenius plot, the activation energy for Zn ranges from 49.13 to 52.21 kJ mol(-1), and that for Mn ranges from 46.97 to 66.77 kJ mol(-1).