New technology for lithium recovery from brine explored at ORNL, U.S.
Geothermal plant, Salton Sea/ California (source: flickr/ monikomad, creative commons)
Alexander Richter
27 Jan 2020
Scientists at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory are working on the refinement of a process that would allow for a more efficient extraction method of lithium from geothermal brine.
A recently published article by Green Car Congress shares work being described in a paper in The Journal of Physical Chemistry C on new approach to lithium recovery from geothermal brine.
The work by scientists at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory is part of work done for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Critical Materials Institute. The scientits are working on the refinement of a lithium-aluminum-layered double hydroxide chloride (LDH) sorbent that – so the estimate – can more effectively recover lithium salts from concentrated brines at geothermal plants.
The brines can contain as much as 250 to 300 parts-per-million lithium. There are estimates that up to 15,000 metric tones of lithium carbonate could be recovered annual from a single geothermal power plant in the Salton Sea, California. The area is believed to have the most mineral-rich geothermal brine in the United States. There are currently 13 geothermal plants in the region, with more planned.
To read the full article, click link below.
Source: Green Car Congress
