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Lithium extraction from low-quality brines

Abstract

In the quest for environmental sustainability, the rising demand for electric vehicles and renewable energy technologies has substantially increased the need for efficient lithium extraction methods. Traditional lithium production, relying on geographically concentrated hard-rock ores and salar brines, is associated with considerable energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, groundwater depletion and land disturbance, thereby posing notable environmental and supply chain challenges. On the other hand, low-quality brines—such as those found in sedimentary waters, geothermal fluids, oilfield-produced waters, seawater and some salar brines and salt lakes—hold large potential owing to their extensive reserves and widespread geographical distribution. However, extracting lithium from these sources presents technical challenges owing to low lithium concentrations and high magnesium-to-lithium ratios. This Review explores the latest advances and continuing challenges in lithium extraction from these demanding yet promising sources, covering a variety of methods, including precipitation, solvent extraction, sorption, membrane-based separation and electrochemical-based separation. Furthermore, we share perspectives on the future development of lithium extraction technologies, framed within the basic principles of separation processes. The aim is to encourage the development of innovative extraction methods capable of making use of the substantial potential of low-quality brines.

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Fig. 1: Summary of the Li concentration and Mg/Li ratio of the main lithium-containing water bodies worldwide and the experimental results of different lithium extraction methods.

Fig. 2: Lithium extraction methods based on phase creation and addition strategies.

Fig. 3: Membrane-based separation techniques for lithium extraction.

Fig. 4: Lithium extraction methods based on electrochemical approaches.

Fig. 5: Fundamental principles of lithium extraction.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2022YFB2502104), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (22239002, 22179059, 92372201), Key R&D Project financed by the Department of Science and Technology of Jiangsu Province (BE2020003) and the Science and Technology Innovation Fund for Emission Peak and Carbon Neutrality of Jiangsu Province (BK20231512, BK20220034).

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These authors contributed equally: Sixie Yang, Yigang Wang

Authors and Affiliations

Center of Energy Storage Materials and Technology, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Artificial Functional Materials, National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China

Sixie Yang, Yigang Wang, Hui Pan, Ping He & Haoshen Zhou

School of Materials Science and Intelligent Engineering, Nanjing University, Suzhou, China

Sixie Yang

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Sixie Yang

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