Recovery of Lithium from Geothermal Brines - In U.S. and around the World

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Technology for the Recovery of Lithium from Geothermal Brines
By † William T. Stringfellow * and Patrick F. Dobson
Energy Geosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; [email protected]
* Correspondence: [email protected]
† This paper is an extended version of our paper published in the Proceedings of the 46th Workshop on Geothermal Reservoir Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA, 15–17 February 2021.
https://mdpi-res.com/d_attachment/e...y/energies-14-06805-v2.pdf?version=1634719223

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction
1.1. Lithium Resources
1.2. Lithium Demand is Expected to Grow
1.3. Potential for Geothermal Brine to Supply Demand

1.4. Resource Estimates for the Salton Sea Geothermal Field
1.5. Resource Estimates for Other U.S. Geothermal Fields
1.6. Lithium in Geothermal Brines Outside of the US

1.7. Current Practices for Lithium Extraction from Brine: Evaporative Concentration
1.8. Future Practices: Direct Extraction of Lithium from Brines
1.9. Objective of This Paper

2. Technology for the Direct Extraction of Lithium from Brine
2.1. Concentration and Precipitation
2.2. Organic Sorbents
2.3. Inorganic Molecular Sieve Ion-Exchange Adsorbents
2.3.1. Aluminum Hydroxides 2.3.2. Manganese Oxides
2.3.3. Titanium Oxides
2.3.4. Other Metal Oxides
2.3.5. Other Inorganic Sorbents
2.4. Solvent Separations
2.4.1. Crown Ether
2.4.2. Multicomponent Solvent Systems
2.4.3. Cyclic Siloxane
2.4.4. Ionic Liquids
2.4.5. Modification of Solvent Extraction: Supported Liquid Membranes and Other Surfaces
2.4.6. Modification of Solvent Extraction: Supercritical Carbon Dioxide
2.5. Membrane Separations Technology
2.6. Electrochemical Separation

3. Applications of Lithium Sorption Technology
3.1. Patented Lithium Adsorption Technology
3.2. Modifications to Improve Sorbent Stability
3.3. Interfering Chemicals and Pretreatment Challenges
3.3.1. Alkali Metals
3.3.2. Alkaline Earth Metals
3.3.3. Iron and Base Metals
3.3.4. Metalloids and Other Elements Silica Boron Arsenic Phosphates and Fluorides

4. Mineral Recovery from Salton Sea Geothermal Brines
4.1. Dry Ice Production
4.2. Calcium Chloride
4.3. Base Metals
4.4. US Bureau of Mines: Lithium Recovery by Precipitation Process
4.5. Simbol, Inc.: Integrated System for Lithium Recovery and Purification
4.6. EnergySource: Integrated System for Lithium Recovery and Purification

5. Results and Conclusions


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One huge difference from standard lithium mining is if geothermal plant already exists the environmental permit process for adding a lithium extraction process might be much shorter time than 10 years need for new or expanded traditional mines.


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Lithium Extraction from Icelandic Geothermal Brine
The GREEN Program
Spring Break 2022 Capstone
https://thegreenprogram.com/capstone/lithium-extraction-from-icelandic-geothermal-brine/

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* Lithium is important to sustainability
* Traditional Mining is highly destructive
* Less waste, more eco-friendly lithium production
* Save land from strip mining
* Saves water compared to traditional mining process (many do no recycle water used)
* Increased raw material independence from China
* Takes less time

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Tri-Cities researchers say they can extract lithium from water. That's a big deal.
Researchers at the U.S. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory say their nanoparticle technology can produce lithium cheaper and faster than typical methods, such as these lithium evaporation ponds at SQM Lithium in Chile's Atacama Desert.
May 26, 2022 at 10:18 am
By John Ryan
https://www.kuow.org/stories/tri-cities-researchers-say-they-are-extracting-lithium-from-groundwater

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Vulcan Energy buys German geothermal plant to power lithium extraction
Vulcan Energy is an Australian-German lithium startup
Reuters | December 9, 2021
https://www.mining.com/web/vulcan-energy-buys-german-geothermal-plant-to-power-lithium-extraction/

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The world is craving lithium, and geothermal could relieve it. But at what impact?
by Simone Fant
02 Mar 2022
https://www.renewablematter.eu/arti...eothermal-could-relieve-it-but-at-what-impact

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Geothermal Lithium in Europe and the United States

“There are sites in France and England as well, but these fluids have a lower amount of lithium and low temperature, which nevertheless makes them easier to handle,” Dini explains. Cornwall (England) in particular has come under the magnifying glass for geothermal lithium extraction. Geothermal Engineering Ltd, a company based near Redruth, Cornwall, that specializes in developing and managing geothermal projects, is working on a pilot project focused on extracting lithium from geothermal water.

Italy has great potential in this regard as well, and not just in Cesano. “The whole area from northern Lazio to Campania (Vesuvius area) is a potentially good area to extract geothermal lithium,” Dini explains. Maybe it won't cover all of Italy's needs, but a more circular approach can take care of that, capable – also thanks to better design – of regenerating the precious lithium-ion batteries.

By 2025, Vulcan Energy (Germany) plans to extract 40 thousand tons of geothermal lithium hydroxide from the Rhine Valley in Germany, enough to provide batteries for the equivalent of about one million cars a year. But it's not the only country that can harness the hoarfrost its land has to offer.

According to the U.S. Department of National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the technologies behind direct lithium extraction (DLE), i.e., the separation of lithium and brine, can be grouped into three main categories: absorption using porous materials that allow lithium binding, ion exchange, and solvent extraction. While there is enthusiasm for its potential, NREL cautions that it will be a challenging task to scale up production through these methods. GEL, in addition to Vulcan, is one of several companies that are investing heavily in extraction from geothermal fluids. In the United States, a company called Controlled Thermal Resources has announced the start of its drilling program at the Hell's Kitchen Lithium and Power project in California.


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Enel Green Power and Vulcan Energy join forces on geothermal lithium projects
08 July 2022
https://www.enelgreenpower.com/medi...nergy-join-forces-geothermal-lithium-projects

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Enel Green Power and Vulcan Energy signed a wide-ranging agreement that focuses on geothermal lithium research by leveraging on the development opportunities offered by the "Cesano" license, on the outskirts of Rome (Italy). This agreement brings together the companies’ respective expertise in geothermal energy and lithium extraction in order to develop joint initiatives at the site located in the Latium region and beyond.

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The agreement relies on the synergy between Vulcan's know-how and the industry experience of Enel Green Power, a world leader in geothermal energy with plants in Italy, Chile and the United States. The partners intend to examine the prospects for further developments in geothermal lithium, starting from the area under exam but not excluding further collaborations in Italy and abroad.

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EuGeLi project: extracting European lithium for future electric vehicle batteries The EuGeLi program is an ambitious project to produce European-made lithium. Led by Eramet, the project is conducted with the support of various partners, including Electricité de Strasbourg-Géothermie, BASF, the BRGM, and IFP Energies Nouvelles.
2022 July
https://www.eramet.com/en/activities/innovate-design/eugeli-project

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European Geothermal Lithium Brine (EuGeLi), launched in January 2019, is a collaborative research and innovation project whose principal aim is to validate an active-solid process co-developed by Eramet, achieve better estimates of lithium reserves contained in European geothermal deposits, and develop a profitable economic model that covers the entire process, from the extraction of the lithium to its refinement into battery-quality products. A consortium of nine partners, including manufacturers, academic institutions, and research centers, was assembled for this project. Nearly 85% of its €3.9m budget was financed by EIT-Raw Materials, an institution of the European Union.

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U.S. Department of Energy’s American-made Geothermal Lithium Extraction Prize (2021/2022)
Develop solutions that de-risk and increase market viability for direct lithium extraction from geothermal brines.
https://www.energy.gov/eere/article...finalists-geothermal-lithium-extraction-prize

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Two University of Wyoming (U.S.) research teams Make National Semifinals of DOE Geothermal Lithium Extraction Prize
November 12, 2021
https://www.uwyo.edu/uw/news/2021/1...-doe-geothermal-lithium-extraction-prize.html

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US geothermal lithium offers significant potential US scientists have assessed the viability and potential supply chain impact of extracting lithium from geothermal brines, and they have reported promising results.
January 12, 2022
Marija Maisch
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2022/01/12/us-geothermal-lithium-offers-significant-potential/

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This is the only lithium I could find

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