Producing LiOH from low-lithium bearing brines

Lithium products are projected to be among the most sought-after chemicals in the next decade due to the increasing use of Li-ion batteries in electric vehicles. To meet the demand for such products and because of increase in Li products price, unconventional resources such as Li-bearing oilfield brines have been touted as a new source of Li; however, the required extraction and concentration technologies are completely different than those used in conventional evaporation ponds, which are typically deployed in warmer regions with higher concentrations of Li. In collaboration with Recion Technologies Inc., an Edmonton-based research and development services company, we are investigating potential technologies to concentrate Li from an eluted Li solution (< 2000 ppm), obtained through an ion exchange process, to a desirable concentration for LiOH production.

Faculty Supervisor:

Daniel Alessi;Stephen Johnston

Student:

Salman SafariMohsenabad

Partner:

Recion Technologies Inc

Discipline:

Geography / Geology / Earth science

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

University of Alberta