Chinese scientists manage to extract lithium from sea water: how do they do it?

Published:

Dec 27, 2024 14:53 GMT

The STLES device uses sunlight to extract and store lithium from brines, such as seawater.

A group of researchers from scientific institutions in China and the US developed an innovative method that allows lithium to be extracted from sea water using solar energywhich could represent an efficient and profitable solution to the growing demand for this fundamental element for the energy transition, reported South China Morning Post.

Extracting lithium from hard rock minerals involves processes that consume a large amount of energy resources, which can be very costly from an environmental point of view. Now an alternative of obtaining lithium through sea water has been tried.

However, although the reservations of this metal in the ocean are immense, around 230,000 million tons, Its concentration in sea water is very low. Because of this, experts point out that it has generally been required to apply a seawater desalination process before extracting lithium. This causes this method is ten times more expensive than other techniques.

An efficient alternative

A new study published in Science magazine reports the creation of a device called STLES, which allows extract and store lithium from brines, such as seawater, using sunlight. This device has a transpiration evaporator, a nanofiltration membrane and a storage layer.

Those responsible for the research explain that water evaporates through solar perspiration and passes through the channels of the membrane, in order to separate and extract lithium ions. These lithium ions are placed in the storage layer to be recovered later.

“Long-term experiments, various membrane tests and evaluations of different sizes demonstrate the stability, compatibility and scalability of STLES,” say the scientists, who emphasize that “this solar-powered mining technology” offers a variant for “the sustainable extraction of critical resources”.

Currently, China plays a dominant role in lithium mining and refining worldwide, so it could expand its leadership with this new method for extracting this metal. According to estimates by the International Energy Agency, By 2030, Beijing is expected to be the second largest lithium extractor in the world after Australia.

If you liked it, share it with your friends!