Life cycle assessment considering water-energy nexus for lithium nanofiltration extraction technique

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

New technologies for lithium recovery from brines have been widely explored.

“Therefore, new technologies for lithium recovery from brines have been widely explored (Flexer et al., 2018).”

• cites Flexer et al., 2018 sourceSupported

May combine two claims.

POCP reached 2.21×10^-6, 1.52×10^-6, and 3.65×10^-6 kg C2H4 eq at nanofiltration, hyperfiltration, and electrodialysis stages, respectively.

“POCP reached 2.21 -10 6 , 1.52 -10 6 , and 3.65 -10 6 kg C2H4 eq at nano fi ltration, hyper fi ltration and electrodialysis stages, respectively.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

Steam loss and dust generation during evaporation and dry processes were components of the environmental load.

“Moreover, steam loss and dust generation during evaporation and dry processes were also considered as components of the environmental load.”

May combine two claims.

Environmental emission at the nanofiltration stage was the largest, followed by the hyperfiltration stage.

“Environmental emission at the nano fi ltration stage was the largest, and then followed by that at hyper fi ltration stage.”

May combine two claims.

The nanofiltration stage accounted for the largest proportion of NE, with 5.5×10^-5 kg NOX eq.

“Compared with the other stages, nano fi ltration stage accounted for the largest proportion with 7.85 -10 5 kg SO2 eq for AP, 5.5 -10 5 kg NOX eq for NE, and 1.51 -10 5 kg PM10 for SA, respectively.”

The quote only partly states this claim.

Electricity consumption was the major contributor to global warming potential.

“Electricity consumption was the major contributor to global warming potential.”

May combine two claims.

Water and energy consumption of the nanofiltration stage accounted for 98.05% and 53.95% of total consumption, respectively.

“The water and energy consumption of nano fi ltration stage accounted for 98.05% and 53.95% of total consumption, respectively.”

May combine two claims.

The main energy consumption of the nanofiltration extraction process was electricity, and auxiliary devices such as high-pressure pumps consumed large amounts of energy.

“The main energy consumption of nano fi ltration extraction process was electricity and some auxiliary devices such as high-pressure pumps were used to consume lots of energy.”

May combine two claims.

The raw brine from a salt lake in Qinghai Province had lithium concentration 0.58 g/L and magnesium concentration 5.68 g/L.

“The concentration of lithium and magnesium in the raw brine was 0.58 and 5.68 g/L, respectively.”

May combine two claims.

The total life cycle cost was 18.01 USD, with internal cost accounting for 99.99%.

“The total life cycle cost was 18.01 USD with internal cost accounting for 99.99%.”

May combine two claims.

The cost of precipitation reached 17 USD, accounting for 94.41% of internal cost during the whole process, although this stage produced little environmental load and emission.

“The cost of the precipitation reached 17 USD to account for 94.41% of internal cost during the whole process although this stage only produced a little environmental load and emission.”

May combine two claims.

The total LCC was 18.01 USD, with LCCIn accounting for 99.99%.

“The total LCC was 18.01 USD with LCCIn accounting for 99.99%.”

May combine two claims.

The electricity consumption cost for producing 1 t Li2CO3 in Sinkiang, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai and Tibet were 1028.58, 978.1, 1104.18 and 1321.38 USD, respectively.

“The electricity consumption cost for producing 1 t Li2CO3 in Sinkiang, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai and Tibet were 1028.58, 978.1, 1104.18 and 1321.38 USD, respectively.”

May combine two claims.

The total water consumption reached 546.51 L for producing 1 kg Li2CO3, with direct water consumption in the production process of 523.55 L, which was 22 times higher than indirect water consumption.

“The total water consumption reached 546.51 L for producing 1 kg Li2CO3 with the direct water consumption in the production process of 523.55 L that was 22 times higher than indirect water consumption in this process.”

May combine two claims.

The water and electricity consumption for producing 1 t Li2CO3 reached 546.51 t and 8674 Kwh, respectively.

“The water and electricity consumption for producing 1 t Li2CO3 reached 546.51 t and 8674 Kwh, respectively.”

May combine two claims.

Electricity and water expenditure covered 3.9% and 1.7% of total internal cost, respectively.

“Electricity and water expenditure covered 3.9% and 1.7% of total internal cost, respectively.”

May combine two claims.

Water containing concentrated Mg2+ after the separation process accounted for 54% of the total water, was not involved in further process, and was used for further magnesium extraction.

“Water containing concentrated Mg 2 þ after separation process accounting for 54% of the total water was not involved in further process and was used for further magnesium extraction.”

May combine two claims.

Water consumption at the nanofiltration stage accounted for 98.05% of total water consumption, and energy consumption at the nanofiltration stage accounted for 53.95% of total energy consumption.

“Water/energy consumption at nano fi ltration stage accounted for 98.05%/53.95% of corresponding total consumption.”

May combine two claims.

180.83/59.35 L of solutions with low ion content were separated at hyperfiltration/electrodialysis stage, accounting for 33.09%/10.86% of the direct water consumption.

“In addition, 180.83/59.35 L of solutions with low ion content were separated at hyper fi ltration/electrodialysis stage, accounting for 33.09%/10.86% of the direct water consumption.”

May combine two claims.

The cost of water, Na2CO3 and electricity in LCCIn reached 0.31, 17, and 0.68 USD, respectively.

“The cost of water, Na2CO3 and electricity in LCCIn reached 0.31, 17, and 0.68 USD, respectively.”

May combine two claims.

Extraction of 1 kg Li2CO3 requires more than 500 L fresh water for dilution and large quantity of energy is consumed in the nanofiltration, hyperfiltration and electrodialysis stages.

“Extraction of 1 kg Li2CO3 requires more than 500 L fresh water for dilution and large quantity of energy is consumed in the nano fi ltration, hyperfi ltration and electrodialysis stages based on the investigation.”

• AssumptionRests on an assumption: Raw brine must be diluted before nanofiltration membrane separation to prevent membrane fouling.

Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

Na2CO3 used in this study was industrial grade with purity of 99% and its price was relatively high.

“Na2CO3 used in this study was industrial grade with purity of 99% and its price was relatively high.”

May combine two claims.

A little water and no electricity were consumed at the MVR evaporation stage.

“A little water and no electricity were consumed at MVR evaporation stage.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

A hybrid assessment of LCA and LCC for ceramic tile production showed that the total cost of $2.77/m2 was mainly caused by raw material use and that enhancing resource utilization efficiency was effective for decreasing environmental cost in that industry.

“A hybrid assessment of LCA and LCC for ceramic tile production was performed to show that the total cost of $2.77/m2 was mainly caused by the use of raw materials and enhancement of resource utilization ef fi ciency was effective for decreasing the environmental cost in this industry (Ye et al., 2018).”

• cites Ye et al., 2018Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

May combine two claims.

The widely used methods for extracting lithium from salt-lake brines (precipitation, ion-exchange, liquid-liquid extraction) are relatively simple but consume relatively high chemical reagents and energy.

“These methods are relatively simple while the consumption of chemical reagents and energy is relatively high (Swain, 2017).”

• cites Swain, 2017 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

A previous LCA study of water treatment plants reported that a treatment plant with a nanofiltration unit exerted less environmental impact than a conventional treatment plant.

“Previous study regarding LCA of water treatment plants reported that treatment plant with nano fi ltration unit exerted less environmental impact than the conventional treatment plant (Bonton et al., 2012).”

• cites Bonton et al., 2012 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

The competitive coefficient is susceptible to the Mg2+/Li+ ratio, which should be less than 20.

“The competitive coef fi cient was susceptible to the Mg 2 þ /Li þ ratio which should be less than 20 (Sun et al., 2015).”

• cites Sun et al., 2015 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

May combine two claims.

Compared with the traditional lithium extraction process, the nanofiltration membrane process was more environmentally friendly because it did not directly consume large amounts of fossil resources.

“Compared with the traditional lithium extraction process, nanofi ltration membrane process was more environmentally friendly since it did not directly consume large amounts of fossil resources.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

More than 60% of global lithium products are produced from brines.

“more than 60% of the global lithium products are produced from brines (Tadesse et al., 2019).”

• cites Tadesse et al., 2019 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

An LCA study on multicrystalline silicon photovoltaic cell production showed that increasing the use proportion of renewable energy sources and improving power generation consumption efficiency was crucial because energy consumption mainly contributed to high-score global warming potential.

“LCA study on multicrystalline silicon photovoltaic cell production exhibited that it was crucial to increase the use proportion of renewable sources of energy and to improve the consumption ef fi ciency of power generation since energy consumption mainly contributed to the high-score global warming potential (Hong et al., 2016).”

• cites Hong et al., 2016 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

A membrane with covalent binding had much lower environmental impacts than activated carbon made from coal for a water membrane purification system.

“Membrane with covalent binding also had much lower environmental impacts than activated carbon made from coal for water membrane puri fi cation system (Manda et al., 2014).”

• cites Manda et al., 2014 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

LCC analysis can effectively reflect the economic rationality of a process to determine whether it is economically friendly.

“LCC analysis can effectively re fl ect the economic rationality of the process to determine whether a process is economically friendly (Ye et al., 2018).”

• cites Ye et al., 2018Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

Nanofiltration is a promising technique for lithium extraction from salt-lake brines.

“Nano fi ltration is a promising technique for lithium extraction from salt-lake brines.”

• Also stated in: § a b s t r a c t Lithium is an important strategic resource and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau possesses abundant liquid lithium resources in the salt lakes. Nano fi ltration is a promising technique for lithium extraction from salt-lake brines. However, no information on the environmental impact of lithium nano fi ltration extraction is available. This study used life cycle assessment (LCA), life cycle cost (LCC) and water consumption (LCWC) methods to evaluate the environmental burden of lithium nano fi ltration extraction technique with the functional unit of 1 kg Li2CO3 products. The results showed that nano fi ltration stage was the key process to produce the environment burden based on higher values of global warming potential, acidi fi cation potential, photochemical ozone creation potential, soot & ashes, and nutrient enrichment in comparison with the other stages of lithium extraction. Electricity consumption was the major contributor to global warming potential. The total life cycle cost was 18.01 USD with internal cost accounting for 99.99%. Direct water consumption was 22 times higher than indirect water consumption in this process. The water and energy consumption of nano fi ltration stage accounted for 98.05% and 53.95% of total consumption, respectively. The total cost of energy and water consumption for nanofi ltration technique in different regions followed the order of Tibet > Inner Mongolia > Sinkiang > Qinghai. This study provided quantitative data and theoretical basis for lithium resource exploitation in the ecologically-fragile regions in the world. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. · boosted

  “In recent years, membrane process as a promising lithium extraction technique has been gradually used to extract lithium from salt lakes because this technique allows univalent ions to pass through the membrane to trap divalent/ polyvalent ions.”

May combine two claims.

Improvement of resource utilization efficiency and dust-removing equipment will significantly reduce environmental governance costs and increase life cycle economic performance.

“Therefore, improvement of resource utilization ef fi ciency and dust-removing equipment will signi fi cantly reduce the environmental governance costs and increase life cycle economic performance.”

May combine two claims.

Equipment loss and maintenance were not considered in the LCC because the functional unit was 1 kg Li2CO3 and the process was at small trial scale.

“However, the function unit in this study was 1 kg Li2CO3 products, which was a small yield and belonged to small trial scale. Therefore, the loss and maintenance of equipment were not considered in this study.”

• AssumptionRests on an assumption: The cost of the nanofiltration membrane device (about 29,100 USD) generally accounts for most of the process cost.

Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

Lithium is an important strategic resource and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau possesses abundant liquid lithium resources in salt lakes.

“Lithium is an important strategic resource and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau possesses abundant liquid lithium resources in the salt lakes.”

• Also stated in: § a b s t r a c t Lithium is an important strategic resource and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau possesses abundant liquid lithium resources in the salt lakes. Nano fi ltration is a promising technique for lithium extraction from salt-lake brines. However, no information on the environmental impact of lithium nano fi ltration extraction is available. This study used life cycle assessment (LCA), life cycle cost (LCC) and water consumption (LCWC) methods to evaluate the environmental burden of lithium nano fi ltration extraction technique with the functional unit of 1 kg Li2CO3 products. The results showed that nano fi ltration stage was the key process to produce the environment burden based on higher values of global warming potential, acidi fi cation potential, photochemical ozone creation potential, soot & ashes, and nutrient enrichment in comparison with the other stages of lithium extraction. Electricity consumption was the major contributor to global warming potential. The total life cycle cost was 18.01 USD with internal cost accounting for 99.99%. Direct water consumption was 22 times higher than indirect water consumption in this process. The water and energy consumption of nano fi ltration stage accounted for 98.05% and 53.95% of total consumption, respectively. The total cost of energy and water consumption for nanofi ltration technique in different regions followed the order of Tibet > Inner Mongolia > Sinkiang > Qinghai. This study provided quantitative data and theoretical basis for lithium resource exploitation in the ecologically-fragile regions in the world. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. · plain

  “Lithium is an important strategic resource and mainly distributed in the QinghaiTibet Plateau of China with LiCl total reserves of 15.2 -10 6 t and 80% of lithium resource existing in the salt lakes of Qaidam Basin (Shi et al., 2018; Song et al., 2014; Yu et al., 2013).”

• cites Shi et al., 2018 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source
• cites Song et al., 2014 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source
• cites Yu et al., 2013Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

More than 60% of global lithium production is extracted from brines.

“More than 60% global lithium production is extracted from brines (Tadesse et al., 2019).”

• cites Tadesse et al., 2019 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

May combine two claims.

The consumption of non-domestic water in Sinkiang, Inner Mongolia, and Tibet is charged by a 2-step water price with the second step price higher than the first step price, while non-domestic water in Qinghai is charged by an identical price.

“The consumption of non-domestic water in Sinkiang, Inner Mongolia, and Tibet is charged by 2-step water price with the second step price higher than the fi rst step price while nondomestic water in Qinghai is charged by the identical price.”

• cites NBS, 2019Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

The fresh water could be recycled to dilute the brines.

“The fresh water could be recycled to dilute the brines.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).

This study provides a theoretical basis for the lithium industry, especially in ecologically fragile regions in the world.

“This study provides theoretical basis for the lithium industry especially in ecologically fragile regions in the world.”

• AssumptionRests on an assumption: Information on LCA and sustainability of brine processing is still scarce.

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

Water separated at hyperfiltration/electrodialysis stages could also be recycled for diluting the raw brines.

“Water separated at hyper fi ltration/electrodialysis stages could also be recycled for diluting the raw brines.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

Indirect water consumption was reported to account for a larger proportion in total water consumption of olefins production, contrary to the results of this study.

“Indirect water consumption was reported to account for a larger proportion in total water consumption of ole fi ns production (Xing et al., 2016), which was contrary to the results of this study.”

• cites Xing et al., 2016 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

May combine two claims.

Improvement in resource utilization efficiency and water recycling were more effective to reduce environmental governance costs and environmental load, even though the nanofiltration extraction technique was relatively environmentally-friendly.

“The results showed that improvement in resource utilization ef fi ciency and water recycling were more effective to reduce the environmental governance costs and environmental load even the nano fi ltration extraction technique was relatively environmentally-friendly.”

May combine two claims.

The electricity consumption of Sinkiang and Qinghai is charged by step price while that of Inner Mongolia and Tibet is charged by an identical price.

“The electricity consumption of Sinkiang and Qinghai is charge by step price while that of Inner Mongolia and Tibet is charged by the identical price.”

• cites NBS, 2019Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

May combine two claims.

Na2CO3 was the key factor affecting the internal cost and deserved careful selection during the extraction process.

“As a result, Na2CO3 was the key factor affecting the internal cost to deserve careful selection during the extraction process.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

The water resources of Sinkiang, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, and Tibet were 58, 81, 89 and 362 km3-water/m2-land, respectively.

“The water resources of Sinkiang, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, and Tibet were 58, 81, 89 and 362 km 3 -water/m 2 -land, respectively.”

• cites NBS, 2019Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

Water-energy nexus is critical for many industries, and energy consumption had effects on water use policies to subsequently affect the related industry.

“Water-energy nexus is critical for many industries and the previous study also reported that energy consumption had effects on water use policies to subsequently affect the related industry (Xiang and Jia, 2019).”

• cites Xiang and Jia, 2019 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source