Lithium Extraction and Recovery from Brine Resources
Summary
Lithium-bearing brines, chiefly found in salt flats and geothermal reservoirs, represent a pivotal resource for the production of battery-grade lithium compounds. Traditional solar evaporation relies on large ponds to concentrate lithium salts over months, but this approach can be land-intensive, slow and susceptible to climatic variability. In response, a suite of direct lithium extraction (DLE) technologies has emerged, encompassing adsorption on ion-sieves and inorganic sorbents, ion-exchange resins, solvent-based liquid–liquid extraction, membrane separation and electrochemical methods such as electrodialysis and capacitive deionization. These routes aim to accelerate recovery, enhance lithium selectivity over magnesium and calcium, reduce freshwater consumption and minimise environmental footprint. Key challenges include the management of complex brine chemistries, high Mg/Li ratios, scaling and fouling of materials, and the need for robust, scalable processes. Advancements in molecular receptors, organised nanostructures and integrated flowsheets are driving both pilot-scale demonstrations and techno-economic assessments. Efficient lithium recovery from brine is crucial to meeting global demand for electric vehicles and renewable energy storage, thereby supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy.
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Lithium Extraction and Recovery from Brine Resources publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in lithium extraction and recovery from brine resources across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Brine: A concentrated aqueous solution of salts containing dissolved lithium.
Direct lithium extraction: Techniques that selectively recover lithium from brine without relying on solar evaporation ponds.
Ion-sieve: A solid adsorbent material with nanoscale cavities that selectively intercalate lithium ions.
Electrodialysis: An electrochemical separation process using ion-exchange membranes and an electric field to move ions selectively.
Capacitive deionization: A technique that removes ions from solution by applying a potential difference to porous electrodes.
Liquid–liquid extraction: A separation method where lithium is transferred between two immiscible liquid phases by a selective extractant.
pH-regulated receptor: A molecular extractant whose binding affinity for lithium varies with solution pH to enable selective separation.
References
- A review on lithium recovery using electrochemical capturing systems. Desalination (2021).
- A review of technologies for direct lithium extraction from low Li+ concentration aqueous solutions. Frontiers in Chemical Engineering (2022).
- Selective Separation of Lithium, Magnesium and Calcium using 4‐Phosphoryl Pyrazolones as pH‐Regulated Receptors. Angewandte Chemie International Edition (2023).
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