Highly Efficient Lithium Extraction from Salt Lake Brine Using the Ethylenediaminetetraacetic Acid-Assisted Loose Nanofiltration Membrane Process

Technical Principle: They developed the Ethylenediaminetetraacetic Acid-Assisted Loose Nanofiltration Membrane Process (EALNF), eliminating the time-consuming solar evaporation step in the traditional evaporation-precipitation process. By utilizing the sieving effect of the nanofiltration membrane and the complexing effect of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid on lithium ions, efficient separation of lithium ions from other impurity ions is achieved.

Extraction Effect: This process can increase the lithium recovery rate of salt lake brine from the current 30% - 50% to 80% - 90%, significantly enhancing the production of lithium carbonate from the same amount of brine and drastically shortening the production cycle from 1 - 2 years to 1 - 2 months.

Journal information: The journal "Nature Sustainability", a subsidiary of "Nature"

Research Team: Dr. Li Zhikao from Monash University, Australia, and Monash Science and Technology Research Institute in Suzhou Industrial Park, along with Professor Zhang Xiwang, an academician of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.