The DOI matches its Crossref record; 149 of the 150 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Lithium recovery using electrochemical technologies: Advances and challenges
Abstract
Driven by the electric-vehicle revolution, a sharp increase in lithium (Li) demand as a result of the need to produce Li-ion batteries is expected in coming years. To enable a sustainable Li supply, there is an urgent need to develop cost-effective and environmentally friendly methods to extract Li from a variety of sources including Li-rich salt-lake brines, seawater, and wastewaters. While the prevalent lime soda evaporation method is suitable for the mass extraction of Li from brine sources with low Mg/Li ratios, it is time-consuming (>1 year) and typically exhibits low Li recovery. Electrochemically-based methods have emerged as promising processes to recover Li given their ease of management, limited requirement for additional chemicals, minimal waste production, and high selectivity towards Li. This state-of-the-art review provides a comprehensive overview of current advances in two key electrochemical Li recovery technologies (electrosorption and electrodialysis) with particular attention given to advances in understanding of mechanism, materials, operational modes, and system configurations. We highlight the most pressing challenges these technologies encounter including (i) limited electrode capacity, poor electrode stability and co-insertion of impurity cations in the electrosorption process, and (ii) limited Li selectivity of available ion exchange membranes, ion leakage and membrane scaling in the electrodialysis process. We then systematically describe potentially effective strategies to overcome these challenges and, further, provide future perspectives, particularly with respect to the translation of innovation at bench-scale to industrial application.
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In the citing paper
“Li separation from multicomponent mixtures with a high Mg/Li ratio has been demonstrated to be technically and potentially economically feasible with the use of specific IEMs”
From Electrochemical Direct Lithium Extraction: A Review of Electrodialysis and Capacitive Deionization Technologies (2025) · cites this paper as [51]
In the citing paper
“Electrochemical methods offer not only high selectivity and environmental friendliness but also distinct advantages in ease of management, low waste production, and high lithium recovery”
From Electrochemical Direct Lithium Extraction: A Review of Electrodialysis and Capacitive Deionization Technologies (2025) · cites this paper as [51]
In the citing paper
“Electrochemical methods offer not only high selectivity and environmental friendliness but also distinct advantages in ease of management, low waste production, and high lithium recovery”
From Electrochemical Direct Lithium Extraction: A Review of Electrodialysis and Capacitive Deionization Technologies (2025) · cites this paper as [51]
In the citing paper
“Electrochemical methods offer not only high selectivity and environmental friendliness but also distinct advantages in ease of management, low waste production, and high lithium recovery”
From Electrochemical Direct Lithium Extraction: A Review of Electrodialysis and Capacitive Deionization Technologies (2025) · cites this paper as [51]
In the citing paper
“Electrochemical methods offer not only high selectivity and environmental friendliness but also distinct advantages in ease of management, low waste production, and high lithium recovery”
From Electrochemical Direct Lithium Extraction: A Review of Electrodialysis and Capacitive Deionization Technologies (2025) · cites this paper as [51]
In the citing paper
“Electrochemical methods offer not only high selectivity and environmental friendliness but also distinct advantages in ease of management, low waste production, and high lithium recovery”
From Electrochemical Direct Lithium Extraction: A Review of Electrodialysis and Capacitive Deionization Technologies (2025) · cites this paper as [51]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Wu, L., Zhang, C., Kim, S., Hatton, T. A., Mo, H., & Waite, T. D.
- Affiliations
- UNSW Sydney (AU)
- University of Science and Technology of China (CN)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
- OriginWater (China) (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Zhang, Changyong
- Waite, T. David
- Venue
- Water Research
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2022-08
- Volume
- 221
- Pages
- 118822
- ISSN
- 0043-1354 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4283803784
- Cited by
- 214
- References
- 150
- Citations by year
- 2026: 50 · 2025: 82 · 2024: 46 · 2023: 34 · 2022: 2
- FWCI
- 3.66
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Update notices
- erratum (2023-02-15)
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Water Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Chemical Engineering › Filtration and Separation › Membrane-based Ion Separation Techniques
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Metals and Alloys › Extraction and Separation Processes
- Physical Sciences › Chemistry › Electrochemistry › Molten salt chemistry and electrochemical processes
- Keywords
- lithium recovery, electrochemical lithium extraction, electrosorption, electrodialysis, lithium-rich brines, ion exchange membranes, electrode stability, membrane scaling, electrolyte leakage, lithium-ion batteries, electric vehicles
- MeSH terms
- Cations, Electricity, Electrodes, Ion Exchange, Lithium
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