Green recovery of lithium from geothermal water based on a novel lithium iron phosphate electrochemical technique. (20th February 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Sun, Sen; Yu, Xiaoping; Li, Mingli; Duo, Ji; Guo, Yafei; Deng, Tianlong
• Is Part Of: Journal of cleaner production. Volume 247(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-02-20
• Subjects: Lithium -- Geothermal water -- LiFePO4 -- Electrochemical adsorption; Factory and trade waste -- Management -- Periodicals; Manufactures -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Déchets industriels -- Gestion -- Périodiques; Usines -- Aspect de l'environnement -- Périodiques; 628.5
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119178
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0959-6526

Abstract

Abstract: With the increasing demands for lithium, the recovery of lithium from liquid minerals has become a research focus worldwide. The green recovery of a low concentration of lithium from geothermal water was carried out in this work based on the LiFePO4 /FePO4 technique. The composite LiFePO4 electrode was prepared first and then electrochemically delithiated to obtain a FePO4 electrode. When the LiFePO4 and FePO4 electrodes were used to construct an electrochemical system in an H-type electrolytic cell, it had high response to low concentrations of Li + at 1.0 V. The electrochemical adsorption capacity was successfully increased by 57.02% which was 17.10 mg g −1 in the geothermal water by using PEG-6000 as a poregen to obtain pore structures on the surface of electrode. The recovery rate of Li + reached 90.65% after eight adsorption-desorption cycles. Subsequently, a novel electrochemical device was proposed for the recovery of low concentrations of Li + by the LiFePO4 /FePO4 technique. Only electrical energy was consumed and no organic solvents or other toxic reagents were used during the recovery process. All these properties make the developed method a green and promising candidate for the recovery of Li + from geothermal water. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: Lithium in geothermal water was recovered by electrochemical adsorption. A composite LiFePO4 (LFP) electrode was prepared. The adsorption capacity of electrode was enhanced by structure regulation. A novel electrochemical device was proposed for the recovery of Li + .