Lithium Extracting from Zinnwaldite: Economical Comparison of an Adapted Spodumene and a Direct‐Carbonation Process

Lithium is used in a variety of everyday objects. The most important field of application is as components of battery electrolytes and electrodes. Next to salar brines, commercial lithium production relies on mineral ore sources such as spodumene, petalite, and lepidolite. This study provides an eco...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Chemical engineering & technology 2018-05, Vol.41 (5), p.975-982
Main Authors: Rentsch, Lars, Martin, Gunther, Bertau, Martin, Höck, Michael
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Batteries
Brines
Carbon dioxide
Carbonation
Concentrates (ores)
Direct‐carbonation process
Economic pre‐feasibility
Expenditures
Hydrometallurgy
Lithium
Lithium carbonate
Minerals
Spodumene
Sulfuric acid
Zinnwaldite
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Summary:Lithium is used in a variety of everyday objects. The most important field of application is as components of battery electrolytes and electrodes. Next to salar brines, commercial lithium production relies on mineral ore sources such as spodumene, petalite, and lepidolite. This study provides an economic comparison of two processes for the extraction of lithium from zinnwaldite concentrate, a lithium mineral that can be found along the Czech/German border at Cínovec/Zinnwald. In contrast to the state‐of‐the‐art lithium extraction from siliceous ores, which is a hydrometallurgical extraction process with sulfuric acid, the novel direct‐carbonation process is based on digestion using supercritical carbon dioxide. An assessment of the capital and operating expenditures was also carried out. Lithium is applied in many everyday objects such as battery electrolytes and electrodes. Its availability relies upon economic extraction processes from minerals or ores. An overview of the domestic zinnwaldite lithium deposit at Cínovec/Zinnwald is provided herein with an analysis of conventional and innovative extraction processes as well as process modeling of lithium carbonate recovery.
ISSN:0930-7516
1521-4125
DOI:10.1002/ceat.201700604