Method for the hydrometallurgical recovery of lithium from the lithium manganese oxide-containing fraction of used galvanic cells

The invention relates to a method for the hydrometallurgical recovery of lithium from the lithium manganese oxide-containing fraction of used galvanic cells. According to the invention, a lithium manganese oxide-containing fraction having a particle size of up to 500 [mu]m is introduced into oxalic acid in an amount that is hyperstoichiometric relative to the lithium manganese oxide content and in a solid-to-liquid ratio in the range of 10 to 250 g/l, and the compound is solubilized at temperatures of 30 to 70 DEG C, the lithium-containing solution formed is separated off and the remaining residue is washed at least twice, the wash solution containing the separated lithium and the lithium-containing wash solution are combined, the remaining manganese content dissolved is precipitated as a hydroxide, thereby reducing it, is separated off and washed and the remaining lithium-containing solution is further purified by conversion to its carbonate, chloride or sulphate form and optionally by subsequent crystallization.