April 21, 2024
New process recovers five times more lithium from waste than existing technology
“The key advantage is that it works in a wider pH range of 5 to 11 compared to other direct lithium extraction methods,” Parans Paranthaman, ORNL Corporate Fellow and co-author of the papers that present these findings, said in a media statement. The patent-pending acid-free extraction process takes place at 140 degrees Celsius, compared to traditional methods that roast mined minerals at 250 degrees Celsius with acid or 800 to 1000 degrees Celsius without acid. The technique works based on lithiation, during which an aluminum hydroxide powder extracts lithium ions from a solvent to form a stable layered double hydroxide,
