RIYADH – Researchers at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), in Saudi Arabia, have found a way to extract a critical part of electric vehicle batteries, lithium, from seawater, in a more cost-effective way.
“Our method may serve as a viable approach to secure lithium supplies for future energy use,” the researchers said in the study published in the journal. Energy & Environmental Science dan berjudul “Continuous Electrical Pumping Membrane Process for Seawater Lithium Mining”.
It says the oceans contain about 5,000 times more lithium than land, but the concentrations are very low, around 0.2 parts per million. So, how do we harvest it? This is how the KAUST team tackled the challenge of using Red Sea water (and ions are particles, atoms, or molecules with a net electrical charge).
The KAUST team solved this problem with an electrochemical cell containing a ceramic membrane made of lithium lanthanum titanium oxide (LLTO). The crystal structure contains holes wide enough to let lithium ions through while blocking out larger metal ions.
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The cell contains three compartments. The seawater flows into the central feed chamber, where the positive lithium ions pass through the LLTO membrane into the side compartment containing the solution buffer and copper cathodes coated with platinum and ruthenium.
Meanwhile, negative ions exit the feed chamber through a standard anion exchange membrane, passing through a third compartment containing sodium chloride solution and a platinum-ruthenium anode.
Hydrogen Gas
At 3.25 volts, the cell produces hydrogen gas at the cathode and chlorine gas at the anode. This promotes the transport of lithium through the LLTO membrane, which then accumulates in the side chambers. The lithium-enriched water then feeds into four more processing cycles, eventually reaching a concentration of over 9,000 ppm. Adjusting the pH of this solution yields solid lithium phosphate containing only a small amount of other metal ions, pure enough to meet battery manufacturers’ requirements.
The researchers estimate that the cells only need five dollars’ worth of electricity to extract one kilogram of lithium from seawater, and the value of hydrogen and chlorine produced by the cells will more than offset the costs. Furthermore, the remaining seawater can be used in the desalination plant to provide fresh water.
“We will continue to optimize the membrane structure and cell design to improve process efficiency,” said team leader Zhiping Lai.
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n SB/electrek/E-9
(SB / E-9)
Editor : Vitto Budi
Author : Selocahyo Basoeki Utomo S
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