The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[OakesCS]

when I looked at 1 of these schemes associated w CO2 capture, the amount of Cl2 produced would’ve dwarfed worldwide consumption. Considering the concentration factor of getting from seawater to 9000 ppm, I’d bet the quantity of Cl2 produced would also be enormous.

While I wouldn’t be inclined to immediately write off all filtration schemes for Li extraction, I certainly wouldn’t go after seawater as the source. There are many brine sources where Mother Nature has already done much of the concentrating.

Li doesn’t like to fit into most silicate minerals. That’s why it shows up in anomalously high concentrations in hydrothermal brines, hydrothermal clays, and late stage pegmatite minerals. It’s like the last kid picked for some team sport in elementary school. Nothing wants it until nothing else is left. That should be taken advantage of for industrial extraction.