Direct Aqueous Extraction Feed Treatment for Sulfide and Hydrocarbon Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aqueous materials, such as brines, often contain sulfides and hydrocarbons that interfere with efficient direct aqueous extraction of ions like lithium, manganese, and nickel, necessitating methods to remove these impurities.
Innovation Solution
A method involving gas sparging, chemical treatment, and membrane processes to reduce sulfide and organic species concentrations, followed by direct aqueous extraction using selective withdrawal media and electrochemical separation to recover target ions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If direct aqueous extraction is used on brines containing sulfides and hydrocarbons, then ion extraction can proceed, but extraction efficiency is reduced due to interference from these impurities
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by removing sulfides and hydrocarbons from the brine feed stream before the direct aqueous extraction process. This pre-treatment step eliminates harmful impurities that would otherwise interfere with the extraction efficiency of target ions, thereby resolving the technical contradiction between maintaining extraction productivity and eliminating harmful factors.
2Productivity
If multiple treatment steps are added to remove sulfides and hydrocarbons, then extraction efficiency improves, but process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple treatment functions into a single integrated reactive extraction stage. The liquid extractant simultaneously performs sulfide removal, hydrocarbon separation, and target ion extraction in one process step, thereby improving extraction efficiency while avoiding the need for multiple separate treatment steps and reducing overall process complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The liquid extractant used in the reactive extraction stage serves multiple functions: it removes sulfides, separates hydrocarbons, and extracts target ions simultaneously. This multi-functionality allows the process to achieve high extraction efficiency without adding multiple separate treatment steps, thus resolving the contradiction between productivity and device complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Effectively removes sulfides and hydrocarbons, enabling efficient extraction and recovery of target ions like lithium, manganese, and nickel from brines, with reduced process interference and improved purity.
Implementation Method 1
Methods described herein also include reducing the concentration of sulfide species such as hydrogen sulfide (H2S), bisulfide (HS−), and/or sulfide (S2−) species in an aqueous material to be used for direct aqueous extraction.
Implementation Method 2
Methods described herein also include reducing the concentration of organic species, including hydrocarbons, bacteria, and salts in an aqueous material before a direct aqueous extraction on the aqueous material.
Implementation Method 3
extracting target ions from the extraction feed, or a stream obtained from the extraction feed, or from a stream derived from the extraction feed, using direct aqueous extraction in an extraction stage to yield an extract
Implementation Method 4
direct aqueous extraction of ions that use methods of removing hydrocarbon and/or sulfide species
Implementation Method 5
followed by direct aqueous extraction using selective withdrawal media and electrochemical separation to recover target ions
Data Source
AI summary
Methods of treating an aqueous source are described herein that include reducing a concentration of sulfide species in a stream obtained from the aqueous source to form an extraction feed and extracting ions from the extraction feed, or a stream obtained from the extraction feed, using direct aqueous extraction. Other methods describe treating an aqueous source by reducing a concentration of organic species in a stream derived from the aqueous source to form an extraction feed and extracting ions from the extraction feed, or a stream derived from the extraction feed, using direct aqueous extraction. The aqueous source can be an aqueous lithium source.