Recovery of Lithium from Geothermal Brine with Lithium-Aluminum Layered Double Hydroxide Chloride Sorbents
Open accessAbstract
We report a three-stage bench-scale column extraction process to selectively extract lithium chloride from geothermal brine. The goal of this research is to develop materials and processing technologies to improve the economics of lithium extraction and production from naturally occurring geothermal and other brines for energy storage applications. A novel sorbent, lithium aluminum layered double hydroxide chloride (LDH), is synthesized and characterized with X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), and thermogravimetric analysis. Each cycle of the column extraction process consists of three steps: (1) loading the sorbent with lithium chloride from brine; (2) intermediate washing to remove unwanted ions; (3) final washing for unloading the lithium chloride ions. Our experimental analysis of eluate vs feed concentrations of Li and competing ions demonstrates that our optimized sorbents can achieve a recovery efficiency of ∼91% and possess excellent Li apparent selectivity of 47.8 compared to Na ions and 212 compared to K ions, respectively in the brine. The present work demonstrates that LDH is an effective sorbent for selective extraction of lithium from brines, thus offering the possibility of effective application of lithium salts in lithium-ion batteries leading to a fundamental shift in the lithium supply chain.
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The Al-LDH extraction technology demonstrated an approximated percent recovery of 91% and a high selectivity of Li+ compared to competing ions Na+ and K+ at 47.87 and 212 selectivity, respectively.
“The Al-LDH extraction technology demonstrated an approximated percent recovery of 91% and a high selectivity of Li + compared to competing ions Na + and K + at 47.87 and 212 selectivity, respectively.”
From A review of technologies for direct lithium extraction from low Li+ concentration aqueous solutions (2022) · cites this paper as Paranthaman et al. (2017)
The Load Wash Strip section reports lithium recovery approaching 91%, and Table 1 gives selectivity values of 47.8 over Na and 212.0 over K for bed volumes 13–16. The claim’s 47.87 value for Na does not match the reported 47.8. (LLM, conf=0.88)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe aluminum Al-LDH (Li:Al ratio 1:3) sorbent selectively precipitated LiCl from geothermal brine with an initial Li+ concentration of 360 ppm.
“The aluminum Al-LDH (Li:Al ratio 1:3) sorbent selectively precipitated LiCl from geothermal brine with an initial Li + concentration of 360 ppm.”
From A review of technologies for direct lithium extraction from low Li+ concentration aqueous solutions (2022) · cites this paper as Paranthaman et al. (2017)
The Sorbent synthesis section describes a Li:Al = 1:3 LDH, and Bench scale column extraction reports selective LiCl recovery from simulated geothermal brine, with lithium concentration reaching 360 mg/L at breakthrough. But the column setup specifies that the sorbent used had a Li:Al ratio of 1:1.25, not 1:3. The extraction section describes LiCl intercalating into the sorbent, not precipitating. (LLM, conf=0.90)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredParanthaman et al. developed a three-step system using LDHs for the selective extraction of lithium from geothermal brines, achieving a lithium recovery efficiency of up to 91%.
“Similarly, Paranthaman et al. [175] developed a three-step system using LDHs for the selective extraction of lithium from geothermal brines, achieving a lithium recovery efficiency of up to 91%.”
From Pathways to Greener Primary Lithium Extraction for a Really Sustainable Energy Transition: Environmental Challenges and Pioneering Innovations (2024) · cites this paper as [175]
The load-wash-elution cycle of Al-LDH does not produce secondary waste.
“Additionally, the load-washelution cycle does not produce secondary waste, an important consideration for environmental contamination and land use.”
From A review of technologies for direct lithium extraction from low Li+ concentration aqueous solutions (2022) · cites this paper as Paranthaman et al. (2017)
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- Authors
- Paranthaman, M. P., Li, L., Luo, J., Hoke, T., Ucar, H., Moyer, B. A., & Harrison, S.
- Affiliations
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (US)
- Rakehill Technologies, LLC, Benicia, California 94510, United States
- Corresponding author
- Paranthaman, Mariappan Parans
- Venue
- Environmental Science & Technology
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2017-11-09
- Volume
- 51
- Issue
- 22
- Pages
- 13481-13486
- ISSN
- 0013-936X (ISSN-L)
- 1520-5851
- OpenAlex
- W2765205446
- Cited by
- 293
- References
- 16
- Citations by year
- 2026: 52 · 2025: 63 · 2024: 50 · 2023: 35 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 23 · 2019: 21 · 2018: 7
- FWCI
- 10.84
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.osti.gov
- Locations
- Environmental Science & Technology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Mechanical Engineering › Extraction and Separation Processes
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Materials Chemistry › Layered Double Hydroxides Synthesis and Applications
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Waste Management and Disposal › Chemical Synthesis and Characterization
- Keywords
- lithium recovery, geothermal brine, lithium aluminum layered double hydroxide, column extraction, selective ion extraction, lithium chloride, lithium-ion batteries, lithium supply chain, brine desalination
- MeSH terms
- Aluminum, Aluminum Hydroxide, Lithium, Salts, Lithium Chloride
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