Despite emerging alternatives like sodium-ion batteries, lithium-ion batteries are expected to remain dominant due to their superior efficiency and energy density. Rising demand could deplete global lithium reserves by the end of the decade, underscoring the urgency for innovative solutions.
Optimizing brine resource
Researchers introduced the term “low-quality brine” to describe sources with lithium concentrations below 0.26 grams per liter or magnesium-to-lithium ratios exceeding 6.15.
These circumstances put traditional extraction techniques to the test, which concentrate lithium by evaporating water and separate it from other elements using chemicals. For such brines, conventional methods are ineffective due to low concentrations and the co-extraction of undesirable components.