Valorization of Dilute Aqueous Lithium Resources Using Gas Hydrate-Based Desalination
摘要
Hydrate-based desalination (HBD) is a cutting-edge, eco-friendly, and energy-efficient desalination method that can treat a wide range of saline solutions, including seawater, industrial effluents, and lithium-containing brines. The valorization of the latter via sustainable liquid mining, i.e., the concentration of dilute metal-containing aqueous solutions through clean water recovery, is of paramount importance to meet the skyrocketing demand for lithium in the years to come. This research focused on HBD’s potential of 0.1 M LiCl as a sustainable liquid mining technology for the water recovery and valorization of lithium resources with and without the presence of CO2 nanobubbles (NBs) as a kinetic promoter. Water recovery of 61.72 ± 2.15% and lithium enrichment factor of 1.87 ± 0.09 were achieved. Moreover, the water recovery was increased to 72.07 ± 4.18% and the enrichment factor reached 2.25 ± 0.14 in the presence of CO2 NBs after 180 min. Also, the desalination efficiency without and with CO2 NBs was 52.47 ± 2.33% and 50.12 ± 3.87%, respectively. Our experimental results indicate the viability of HBD in valorizing lithium resources by recovering clean water, thus offering valuable insights for sustainable water management in the lithium extraction industry.