China’s EV industry targets efficient lithium extraction from low-quality brines
Researchers in China are exploring innovative methods to extract lithium from low-quality brines like seawater and salt lakes.
In order to facilitate the production of lithium batteries for use in construction and energy storage, these developments seek to access plentiful but untapped sources.
According to a Nanjing University study, the increasing demand for renewable energy technology and electric vehicles (EVs) could cause the present lithium supply to run out as early as 2029.
According to a Chinese online news outlet, because of the impending shortage of supplies, scientists are looking into novel ways to extract lithium from unusual sources like salt lakes, seawater, and even sediment deposits all around the world.
Surge in demand
The need for sustainable lithium extraction techniques is being driven by the growing demand for renewable energy technologies and EVs.
Conventional methods, such as mining hard-rock ores and removing lithium from brines, are energy-intensive, emit a lot of greenhouse gases, and disrupt land and deplete groundwater. These methods lead to supply chain and environmental issues, underscoring the need for effective and sustainable substitutes.
Because of their broad availability and large stocks, low-quality brines—such as sedimentary liquids, geothermal fluids, oilfield-produced waters, seawater, and some salt lakes—represent a promising but untapped resource.
However, due to low lithium contents and high magnesium-to-lithium ratios, lithium extraction from these sources is still technically difficult. Advanced extraction techniques are required to make the most of these resources.
According to a report by the South China Morning Post (SCMP), hard-rock ores from places like Zimbabwe and the highly concentrated brine resources in South America are the main sources of lithium for China, the largest refiner of lithium in the world.
To meet domestic demand, Chinese mining companies have expanded operations in Zimbabwe, bolstering global lithium supply chains. Dominating lithium-ion battery production, China accounts for 77 percent of the world’s EV batteries, with combined exports exceeding $139 billion in 2023.
Despite emerging alternatives like sodium-ion batteries, lithium-ion batteries are expected to remain dominant due to their superior efficiency and energy density. Rising demand could deplete global lithium reserves by the end of the decade, underscoring the urgency for innovative solutions.
Optimizing brine resource
Researchers introduced the term “low-quality brine” to describe sources with lithium concentrations below 0.26 grams per liter or magnesium-to-lithium ratios exceeding 6.15.
These circumstances put traditional extraction techniques to the test, which concentrate lithium by evaporating water and separate it from other elements using chemicals. For such brines, conventional methods are ineffective due to low concentrations and the co-extraction of undesirable components.
The researchers investigated developments in pre-concentration and direct extraction techniques to solve these problems, according to SCMP. An enhanced precipitation technique created by a group from Chengdu University of Technology efficiently eliminates magnesium while reducing lithium loss to 0.4 percent.
At a salt lake in Qinghai, researchers from Nanjing University found that solvent extraction methods had an effectiveness of over 65 percent for lithium recovery.
Other innovative approaches examined include filtration membranes that use pressure gradients or electrical fields to separate lithium, as well as electrochemical methods leveraging ion properties, reports SCMP.
According to the study, optimizing lithium extraction from low-quality brines may involve combining various approaches. Efficiency could be increased, for example, by combining extraction with seawater desalination or incorporating renewable energy into the process.
The potential of low-quality brines to contribute significantly to sustainable lithium production, bolster energy storage systems, and further the global shift to cleaner energy sources was highlighted by the researchers.
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China’s EV industry targets efficient lithium extraction from low-quality brines, source
