Geothermal Power Plant Waste – Latest Source for Lithium

Consumption of Lithium is increasing globally! Increasing use of lithium batteries, electric cars and even more batteries to store electricity produced by solar and wind sources could triple the use of Lithium by 2020!

So what must we do?

Here at Green Technology, our answer is simple. Find a greener and more efficient way to isolate lithium!

Simbol Mining…

Is a company in California that has developed a technique to extract Lithium from the hot waste water produced by a geothermal power plant in the area.

Lithium…

Is usually extracted from soil and brine dried in salt ponds. However the waste water produced at the geothermal power plant, which can be millions of gallons a day, is salty and rich in silicates and minerals such as lithium.

How?

1. Silicates are first removed from the waste water by precipitation and filtration.
2. The filtered water is then passed over a chemical resin that draws lithium ions from the solution to form lithium chloride, and then the remaining solution is returned to the ground.
3. Lithium chloride is not a suitable form for shipping, so sodium carbonate is then added, and lithium carbonate is formed, which is easier to transport.

The extraction process is partially driven by the heat of the waste water, which means the environmental impacts are also fairly minimal.