PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF BENCHMARK PLANT FOR SELECTIVE LITHIUM RECOVERY FROM SEAWATER Kazuharu YOSHIZUKA Faculty of Environmental Engineering, The University of Kitakyushu Marek HOLBA, Takeshi YASUNAGA, Yasuyuki IKEGAMI Institute of Ocean Energy, Saga University yoshizuka@env.kitakyu-u.ac.jp
Application Fields of Lithium Light alloy mixed with Al for aircraft Electric vehicle without emission 4 He n 6 Li Energy T Next energy fuel for nuclear fusion Rechargeable battery of mobile IT devices
Recovery of Lithium from Seawater Since the concentration of lithium ion in seawater is quite low (0.1( 0.1-0.2ppm) ) as well as that of sodium ion is extremely high (10,800ppm( 10,800ppm), selective recovery method of lithium ion should be developed. Mines and Salt Lakes 14,000,000 tons Seawater 230,000,000,000 tons Ion exchange recovery method using MnO 2 type adsorbent having spinel structure (λ-mno( 2 ) This adsorbent can be synthesized from lithium manganese oxide (Li x Mn y O 4 ) using ion exchange of Li + by H +.
Economical Potential of Lithium Recovery from Seawater 10 7 10 6 Au Pt Market Price [JPY/kg] 10 5 10 4 10 3 10 2 In Pd Ga Ge Ag Co Fe Cs Zn Ni Cr Cu U V Mo Rb I Li Economically possible Sr Br Mg Economically difficult 10 1 10-6 10-5 10-4 10-3 10-2 10-1 10 0 10 1 10 2 10 3 10 4 10 5 10 6 10 7 Concentration in seawater [ppb (=μg/kg]
Adsorbent Having High Selectivity for Lithium Ion Spinel Type Li x Mn 2 O 4 Ca 2+ (1.06A ) K + (1.33A ) Li + (0.78A ) Angstrom pore Having Li + size Na + (0.98A ) Ion Size Memorized Adsorbent
Synthesis of Li x Mn y O 4 and λ-mno 2 Mn 3 O 4 + LiOH H 2 O Molar ratio Li : Mn = 1:2 or 1.5:2 Mixing & Grinding (15min) Pre-sintering 425 425 o C, 5h Slow-cooling at room temp. for 1.5h Acid treatment by 1M HCl To keep the crystal structure, stirring in acid solution of molar ratio [Li + ] : [H + ] = 1 : 40 for overnight (Several times repeating) Mixing & Grinding (15min) Main-sintering 500 o C, 5h λ-mno 2 Slow-cooling in electric oven for 12h Li x Mn 2 O 4 Ion-recognizable adsorbent of Li +
ph Dependency of Lithium Adsorption Batchwise Adsorption Experiment 2.5 Metal conc.: Li (5mM) + Na (5mM) Adsorbent wt.: 0.02g Aq. Soln.: 0.1M-NH 4 OH-NH 4 Cl buffer, 10mL Initial ph: 6.0-9.0 Time: 5h Temp.: 303K Measurement: AAS High adsorption ability of Li + at ph of seawater q Li / mmol g -1 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0 Li 1.5 Mn Mn 2 O 4 Li 1 Mn 2 O 4 ph of Seawater 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ph
Influence of Metal Ions on Lithium Adsorption Batchwise Adsorption Experiment 2.5 Metal conc.: Li (5mM) + M (5mM~4M) Adsorbent wt.: 0.02g Aq. soln.: ph 8.1 (0.1M-NH 4 OH-NH 4 Cl buffer, 10mL) Time; 5h Temp.; 303K Measurement: AAS No Influence on lithium adsorption more than [M] / [Li] = 800 q Li / mmol g -1 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0 0 200 400 600 800 [M] / [Li] Na + Mg Ca Mg 2+ Ca 2+ K +
Granulation of Adsorbent for Column Packing LiCl 0.25g + Chitin 0.05g in N-methyl N 2-pyrrolidinone 2 5ml +λ-mno 2 5g under stirring SEM image of granulated adsorbent (x60) + 2-propanol 2 Precipitation vacuum filtration, rinse with deionized water, dry at 60 o C Photograph of granulated and powder adsorbents 1wt.%Chitin-granulated adsorbent
Column Apparatus for Lab Scale Experiment Fraction collector Cotton Glass beads Adsorbent Micro tube pump Feed solution Adsorption Column Bed volume (B.V.) Flow rate [cm 3 /min] Adsorbent volume [cm 3 ] Supplying time [min]
Column Separation of Lithium from Seawater Metal Ion Concentration [ppm] 10 5 Breakthrough 0 0 100 200 300 400 500 B.V. [ - ] 4000 3000 2000 1000 Elution Li Na Mn 0 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 B.V. [ - ] Aq. Soln.: Artificial seawater (ph=8.1), Adsorbent wt.: 3.0g, 3 Flow rate: 0.33 33cm 3 /min, Elutant: 1.0 mol/l HCl
Benchmark Plant of Lithium Recovery from Seawater in IOES P Desalination plant Adsorption columns for Li recovery with λ-mno 2 HCl solution Performance of Equipment LiCl solution eluted by HCl Adsorbent weight: 60 kg Adsorbent volume: 0.6 m 3 Eluting aq. soln.: 0.8 M HCl P Pre filter Evaporation Crystallizer Flow rate of seawater supply: 200 L/h Seawater Precipitated Solid Containing Lithium
Benchmark Plant of Lithium Recovery from Seawater in IOES Performance of Equipment Adsorbent weight: 60kg x 2 columns Adsorbent volume: 0.6m 3 x 2 columns Eluting aq. soln.: 1-0.2M HCl Flow rate of seawater supply: 200L/h
Benchmark Plant of Lithium Recovery from Seawater in IOES Adsorption Column Evaporation Crystallizer
Breakthrough Curve of Lithium Using Benchmark Plant for 150 Days Operation (2004/12/21~2005/7/13) 2005/7/13) 150 Days Operation ( 0.16 Lithium Concentration [ppm] 0.14 0.12 0.10 0.08 0.06 0.04 0.02 0 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 Flow Volume of Seawater [m 3 ]
Evaporated Salt Obtained from 150 Days Operation Dried precipitate 791g
The Components of the Precipitate Salt Obtained from 150 Days Operation 150 Days Operation Element LiCl NaCl KCl MgCl 2 CaCl 2 MnCl 2 SrCl 2 Content [wt%] 33.3 20.4 3.3 8.2 13.4 19.4 2.0 Concentration ratio [%] 11,000 0.26 0.94 0.57 4.11-50.0 Content in seawater [wt%] 0.003 78.1 3.5 14.3 3.26 n.q. 0.04
Performance of Lithium Recovery from Seawater 1 cycle of adsorption stage would be required to 10 % of breakthrough of Li + concentration: 0.16 Li + Adsorption stage : 80 m 3 (400 h) washing stage : 1 m 3 (5 h) Elution stage : 0.6 m 3 (3 h) Adsorbent washing stage : 1 m 3 (5 h) 1 cycle of full operation = 413 h (18 days) 20 cycles of full operation / year 5 kg of LiCl Lithium Concentration [ppm] 0.14 0.12 0.10 0.08 0.06 0.04 0.02 0 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 Flow Volume of Seawater [m 3 ]
Economical Analysis of Lithium Recovery Adsorbed Li Energy consumed Water consumed Energy requirements Analysis software: Powersim Unit g/year kwh m 3 kwh/g-li Present case 450 165,400 13,300 385 Proposed case 5,300 34,100 34,100 Energy requirement can be reduced to 1/5. 80
Multiple Utilization of Ocean Energy and Resources Hydrogen Potable Water Mineral Water DOW Ice Power Supply Fresh Water Reuse of DOW Lithium Foods Electricity Surface W. Desalination Deep Ocean Water (DOW) Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) Local Area Chilling System Cool Green House Plant Aquaculture Surface Water Deep Ocean Water(DOW)
Multiple Utilization of Ocean Energy and Resources