The Principle, Progress and Challenges of Lithium Extraction from Brine

¹ SWJTU-Leeds Joint School, University of Leeds, 611756, Chengdu, China
² School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 430074, Wuhan, China
³ College of Materials Science and Engineering, Huaqiao University, 361021, Xiamen, China

^* Corresponding author: Jaydan060111 @outlook.com

Abstract

With the great development of global electric vehicle and energy storage industry, the growing requirement for lithium resources is rising sharply. Efficient and green extraction of lithium from the brine of salt lakes with abundant reserves has become a key to ensuring the security of the lithium supply chain. As the current mainstream lithium extraction technology, absorption methods, membrane methods and electrochemical methods present their technical advantages. Also, they also face corresponding technical bottlenecks and scene limitations, especially in the salt lake brine in arid areas, where the extraction conditions are even more demanding. To adapting the lithium extraction strategy of low-energy, quick, sustainable, the text starts from the technical principles and elaborates on the extraction process in detail. It also reviews the latest research process and performance of each technology in terms of lithium extraction rate, selectivity and energy consumption. Based on it, the text discusses the current mainly challenge in material durability, system scalability, process collaboration, and economic efficiency in depth. Finally, the text predicts the future development trends of various technologies, aiming to offer theoretical references and technical insights for the development of the next generation of efficient, low-carbon, and sustainable lithium resource recovery technologies.