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Vulcan Energy develops in-house lithium extraction sorbent

Vulcan Energy develops in-house lithium extraction sorbent Insheim geothermal power plant, Germany (source: Vulcan Energy Resources)
Carlo Cariaga 14 Nov 2022

Vulcan Energy Resources has developed an in-house sorbent for lithium extraction from geothermal brine which will be used for Phase 1 commercial lithium production.

Vulcan Energy Resources Limited has announced the successful development, testing, and demonstration of its in-house lithium extraction sorbent, VULSORBTM, designed for sustainable lithium extraction from the geothermal brine of the Upper Rhine Valley Brine Field in Germany and the Zero Carbon Lithium Project.

VULSORBTM is a variation of the type of lithium extraction sorbents originally developed thirty years ago and used commercially around the world for lithium extraction from brine for the last 25 years. This Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 9 approach for lithium extraction can be used in most lithium-rich brines globally, provided salinity in the brine is high enough and there is sufficient heat to drive the process, with a brine pre-treatment step to increase sorbent durability which can be adjusted depending on local brine chemistry.

The sorbent enables the lithium to be selectively extracted from the brine, providing a very pure lithium chloride eluate which can then be electro-chemically converted to lithium hydroxide for use in lithium-ion batteries in the European cathode, battery, and automaker industries. Vulcan has binding lithium hydroxide offtake agreements with Stellantis, Volkswagen, Renault, LG Energy Solution, and Umicore.

The main constituent of these sorbents is lithium chloride aluminate. These types of sorbents typically operate optimally at higher temperatures. In some commercial operations worldwide, Vulcan understands that gas is used to heat up the brine prior to lithium extraction. In Vulcan’s case, the brine is naturally pre-heated from a hot geothermal reservoir, thereby reducing operating cost and removing the need for fossil fuels in the process, ultimately enabling a net zero carbon footprint for lithium production.

VULSORBTM has demonstrated higher performance and lower water consumption for lithium extraction in Vulcan’s pilot plant, compared with commercially available sorbents tested by the Company. Test-work has been carried out on live brine from Vulcan’s commercially operating geothermal renewable energy plant, Natürlich Insheim

The manufacturing process for VULSORBTM has been shown to be environmentally benign, with many of the reagents recycled and with opportunities for Vulcan to use its own produced lithium to manufacture future sorbent once in production, thus further reducing Vulcan’s carbon footprint and operating costs while fulfilling the European Union’s circular economy goals.

Vulcan has selected VULSORB™ as its first choice of sorbent for lithium extraction in its planned Phase 1 commercial development, with first commercial production of lithium targeted for Q4 2025. Vulcan continues to test other sorbents from commercial suppliers to provide further optionality, and for potential use in future phases of development.

Recently, Vulcan Energy also announced the expansion of its Zero Carbon Lithium business to the region of Alsace in France, a natural extension of the Upper Rhine Valley Brine Field.

Source: Vulcan Energy