Chemists invent a more efficient way to extract lithium from mining sites, oil fields, used batteries

April 16, 2024
Aluminum hydroxide can extract 37 milligrams of lithium per gram of recoverable sorbent in a single step.

(April 16, 2024, ORNL release) — Chemists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have invented a more efficient way to extract lithium from waste liquids leached from mining sites, oil fields and used batteries. They demonstrated that a common mineral can adsorb at least five times more lithium than can be collected using previously developed adsorbent materials. 

“It’s a low-cost high-lithium-uptake process,” said Parans Paranthaman, an ORNL Corporate Fellow and National Academy of Inventors Fellow with 58 issued patents. He led the proof-of concept experiment with Jayanthi Kumar, an ORNL materials chemist with expertise in the design, synthesis and characterization of layered materials. 

“The key advantage is that it works in a wider pH range of 5 to 11 compared to other direct lithium extraction methods,” Paranthaman said. The acid-free extraction process takes place at 140 degrees Celsius, compared to traditional methods that roast mined minerals at 250 degrees Celsius with acid or 800 to 1000 degrees Celsius without acid.

Lithium is a lightweight metal commonly used in energy-dense and rechargeable batteries. Electric vehicles, which are needed to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, rely on lithium-ion batteries. Industrially, lithium is extracted from brines, rocks and clays. The ORNL innovation may help meet rising demand for lithium by making domestic sources commercially viable.

Read more at ornl.gov.

UT-Battelle manages ORNL for DOE’s Office of Science. The single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, the Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science

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