Chemical-Free Extraction of Lithium from Brines

Direct lithium hydroxide production from geothermal brines via an integrated electrochemical process

Battery is the fuel for the future and Lithium-ion batteries are slated to be the future of battery technology. The biggest hurdle for using lithium for the technology is the high cost of mining, environmental disruption, limited availability while using mining process, as well as difficulty to separate pure lithium from dilute sources.

Researchers at George Washington University have come up with a novel idea to produce Lithium hydroxide directly from geothermal brine. The process envisions integrating silica removal to prevent scaling, selecting uptake and release of lithium to obtain lithium chloride, and production of lithium hydroxide via an electrochemical technology. The applications and benefits of using such a system is listed below.

Application

• Production of lithium hydroxide from Geothermal Brine

Advantages:

• Rapid lithium extraction
• High lithium extraction selectivity and high extraction efficiency.
• Direct production of high purity LiOH and no further refining needed.
• Compatible even for high complexity of brine
• Can be integrated with geothermal plants
• Improves the economics of the process
• Reduces the environmental impact