International Battery Metals Ltd (IBATF)

[bb221]

Current approaches for lithium extraction from water, for example, require a processing step that pumps large volumes of water, thousands of gallons a minute, through an ion exchange filtration system, making it both energy-intensive and expensive,” Pete McGrail, PNNL laboratory fellow and an expert on rare earth metal recovery technology, said in a media statement.

Our nanotechnology process allows us to miniaturize everything and removes the need for massive ion-exchange separators required in other processes.”

McGrail explained that, with the new sorbent, it only takes a few minutes to pull virtually all of the lithium from the solution by molecular collisions. The lithium can then be removed with a magnet where it is easily collected and purified.

The process is expected to work particularly well with oil and gas brines, considered an untapped domestic resource of lithium.

https://www.mining.com/magnetic-nanoparticles-to-be-used-to-extract-lithium-from-brines-in-the-us/

People are already realizing that ion exchange has massive flaws Sorbents are the way of the future