Process intensification in the extraction of Mn from spent Li-ion battery simulated leachate via (G1/W+G2)/O microdispersion system with phase inversion

•Microdispersed heterogeneous systems with varied emulsion structures were designed to intensify reactive extraction of Mn from spent Li-ion batteries leachate.•Dispersion methods with phase inversion were developed for effective preparation of designed emulsion system.•The Murphree efficiency of Mn reaches 95.3% at the outlet of the dispersion module and reaches 99.2% within a contacting volume of 2.12 mL.•The mass transfer in the formation stage of varied dispersion methods was studied.•Mathematical models were established to correlate mass transfer coefficients and study intensification fundamentals.