Electro-driven direct lithium extraction from geothermal brines to generate battery-grade lithium hydroxide
Abstract As Li-ion batteries are increasingly being deployed in electric vehicles and grid-level energy storage, the demand for Li is growing rapidly. Extracting lithium from alternative aqueous sources such as geothermal brines plays an important role in meeting this demand. Electrochemical interca...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56071-x |
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| author | Lingchen Kong Gangbin Yan Kejia Hu Yongchang Yu Nicole Conte Kevin R. Mckenzie Jr Michael J. Wagner Stephen G. Boyes Hanning Chen Chong Liu Xitong Liu |
| author_facet | Lingchen Kong Gangbin Yan Kejia Hu Yongchang Yu Nicole Conte Kevin R. Mckenzie Jr Michael J. Wagner Stephen G. Boyes Hanning Chen Chong Liu Xitong Liu |
| author_sort | Lingchen Kong |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract As Li-ion batteries are increasingly being deployed in electric vehicles and grid-level energy storage, the demand for Li is growing rapidly. Extracting lithium from alternative aqueous sources such as geothermal brines plays an important role in meeting this demand. Electrochemical intercalation emerges as a promising Li extraction technology due to its ability to offer high selectivity for Li and its avoidance of harsh chemical regenerants. In this work, we design an economically feasible electrochemical process that achieves selective lithium extraction from Salton Sea geothermal brine and purification of lithium chloride using intercalation materials, and conversion to battery grade (>99.5% purity) lithium hydroxide by bipolar membrane electrodialysis. We conduct techno-economic assessments using a parametric model and estimated the levelized cost of LiOH•H2O as 4.6 USD/kg at an electrode lifespan of 0.5 years. The results demonstrate the potential of our technology for electro-driven, chemical-free lithium extraction from alternative sources. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-eb8696ed09f14cc595c18d4ff873bbac |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-eb8696ed09f14cc595c18d4ff873bbac2025-01-19T12:30:47ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-01-0116111310.1038/s41467-025-56071-xElectro-driven direct lithium extraction from geothermal brines to generate battery-grade lithium hydroxideLingchen Kong0Gangbin Yan1Kejia Hu2Yongchang Yu3Nicole Conte4Kevin R. Mckenzie Jr5Michael J. Wagner6Stephen G. Boyes7Hanning Chen8Chong Liu9Xitong Liu10Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The George Washington UniversityPritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of ChicagoDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The George Washington UniversityDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The George Washington UniversityDepartment of Chemistry, The George Washington UniversityDepartment of Chemistry, The George Washington UniversityDepartment of Chemistry, The George Washington UniversityDepartment of Chemistry, The George Washington UniversityTexas Advanced Computing Center, The University of Texas at AustinPritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of ChicagoDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The George Washington UniversityAbstract As Li-ion batteries are increasingly being deployed in electric vehicles and grid-level energy storage, the demand for Li is growing rapidly. Extracting lithium from alternative aqueous sources such as geothermal brines plays an important role in meeting this demand. Electrochemical intercalation emerges as a promising Li extraction technology due to its ability to offer high selectivity for Li and its avoidance of harsh chemical regenerants. In this work, we design an economically feasible electrochemical process that achieves selective lithium extraction from Salton Sea geothermal brine and purification of lithium chloride using intercalation materials, and conversion to battery grade (>99.5% purity) lithium hydroxide by bipolar membrane electrodialysis. We conduct techno-economic assessments using a parametric model and estimated the levelized cost of LiOH•H2O as 4.6 USD/kg at an electrode lifespan of 0.5 years. The results demonstrate the potential of our technology for electro-driven, chemical-free lithium extraction from alternative sources.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56071-x |
| spellingShingle | Lingchen Kong Gangbin Yan Kejia Hu Yongchang Yu Nicole Conte Kevin R. Mckenzie Jr Michael J. Wagner Stephen G. Boyes Hanning Chen Chong Liu Xitong Liu Electro-driven direct lithium extraction from geothermal brines to generate battery-grade lithium hydroxide Nature Communications |
| title | Electro-driven direct lithium extraction from geothermal brines to generate battery-grade lithium hydroxide |
| title_full | Electro-driven direct lithium extraction from geothermal brines to generate battery-grade lithium hydroxide |
| title_fullStr | Electro-driven direct lithium extraction from geothermal brines to generate battery-grade lithium hydroxide |
| title_full_unstemmed | Electro-driven direct lithium extraction from geothermal brines to generate battery-grade lithium hydroxide |
| title_short | Electro-driven direct lithium extraction from geothermal brines to generate battery-grade lithium hydroxide |
| title_sort | electro driven direct lithium extraction from geothermal brines to generate battery grade lithium hydroxide |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56071-x |
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