Autor: MedaBeda ++++
Datum: 01. 06. 2026 19:22:27
The new work was done by a collaboration between MIT researchers and a couple of Boston-area companies. Their goal was a process that was far more energy-efficient and didn’t produce as much waste. What they came up with is a process where the key chemical used at the start of the process gets regenerated at a later step, and both the silicon and aluminum in the mineral end up in a form that we’re already using in commercial applications.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/05/researchers-develop-a-new-process-to-get-lithium-out-of-rocks/
current process is energy-intensive and leaves behind a lot of waste....the process starts by heating the mineral to roughly 1,000° C to disrupt its compact structure, after which sulfuric acid is used to leach out the lithium. The resulting lithium sulfate solution is then converted into something useful for battery manufacturing (typically lithium carbonate), leaving behind sulfur-containing waste.
While the process gets rid of the high temperatures for the initial processing of lithium-containing ore, there are several steps with elevated temperatures needed further down the line, both for the lithium and for the useful aluminum and silicon products. So, the researchers did a full economic evaluation of how their process stacked up to what’s already on the market.
The existing process, which involves roasting ore/sulfuric acid, came in at just under $9,000 for each usable tonne of lithium. By contrast, they estimate that the new process should only cost a bit over $5,000 per tonne. That’s roughly comparable to the cost of isolation from high-quality brines. If the silicon and aluminum products can also be sold, then the cost of the whole process would drop by over $1,000, making it highly cost-effective. |
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Autor: ♨️ (Modrak ++)