Lithium Brine Recycle Stream Blending for Higher DLE Recovery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for lithium extraction from brines, such as solar evaporation ponds, are limited to arid environments, require long production times, have low selectivity, and result in significant land and water usage, necessitating an improved process for efficient lithium recovery.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus utilizing a recycling unit to blend nanofiltration, product wash, and lithium carbonate reaction waste streams to generate a recycle stream, which is fed back into the direct lithium extraction (DLE) process, enhancing lithium recovery efficiency from 70% to 90% without increasing overall costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If solar evaporation ponds are used for lithium extraction, then lithium concentration can be increased, but production time becomes excessively long (up to 18 months) and land requirements become very large
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the natural solar evaporation process with a mechanical filtration system using nanofiltration membranes. This substitution enables lithium extraction to occur in controlled industrial settings rather than requiring large-scale natural evaporation ponds, dramatically reducing production time from months to days while maintaining efficient lithium concentration recovery
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operating parameters by using nanofiltration membranes with specific pore sizes and charge characteristics that selectively allow lithium ions to pass while retaining other ions. This parameter change enables high-selectivity lithium extraction without requiring the long evaporation times needed in traditional solar ponds
2Quantity of substance
If solar evaporation ponds are used for lithium extraction, then lithium concentration can be increased, but land requirements become excessively large
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the extensive land-based solar evaporation infrastructure with compact nanofiltration processing units. This mechanical substitution concentrates lithium extraction into small-footprint industrial facilities, eliminating the need for large-scale land use while achieving the same lithium concentration objective
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the concentration mechanism from solar-driven evaporation to membrane-based selective filtration. This parameter change enables lithium concentration to be achieved in a compact space using pressure-driven nanofiltration rather than requiring vast land areas for evaporation ponds
3Quantity of substance
If solar evaporation is used for lithium extraction, then brine can be enriched, but selectivity to lithium remains low requiring higher quality brines
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the enrichment mechanism from non-selective solar evaporation to selective nanofiltration. By using membranes with specific pore sizes and surface charges, the system achieves high lithium selectivity during brine enrichment, allowing it to process lower-quality brines that would be unsuitable for traditional solar evaporation methods
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by designing nanofiltration membranes with specific properties (pore size, charge density, hydrophilicity) that are optimized for lithium ion separation. This localized functional design enables high selectivity at the membrane level, allowing the system to discriminate lithium from other ions even in complex brine compositions
4Quantity of substance
If solar evaporation ponds are used, then lithium can be extracted, but fresh water consumption becomes excessive in arid environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces solar evaporation with nanofiltration, which uses pressure-driven membrane separation instead of evaporative concentration. This mechanical substitution eliminates the need for large quantities of fresh water that would otherwise be required for evaporation cooling and process water in arid environments, making lithium extraction viable in water-scarce regions
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
The recycling of waste streams increases lithium extraction efficiency from brines by reducing waste and allowing for higher flux rates, thereby improving lithium recovery and reducing the need for additional filtration modules.
Implementation Method 1
a first nanofiltration membrane to separate a lithium-containing brine into a first permeate stream and a first concentrate stream
Implementation Method 2
a first reverse osmosis (RO) membrane to further process the first permeate stream into a second permeate stream and a second concentrate stream
Data Source
AI summary
A composition, apparatus, and method for enabling improved direct lithium extraction. An exemplary embodiment provides a method of producing a recycle stream. The method includes receiving a nanofiltration waste stream, a product wash waste stream, and a lithium carbonate reaction waste stream, or any combination thereof. The method includes blending at least a fraction of each of at least two of: the nanofiltration waste stream, the product wash waste stream, and the lithium carbonate reaction waste stream to generate the recycle stream.