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Spotted: Lithium is an essential component in new green technologies, including EVs and renewable energy storage, as well as other electronics like smartphones. However, extracting lithium using traditional brine mining methods is both inefficient and highly unsustainable, leading to water pollution and biodiversity loss. Luckily, a team of scientists from the Monash Suzhou Research Institute may have a way to change that.

The researchers’ new process is called EDTA-aided loose nanofiltration (EANLF), which uses commercially available membranes and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) as a chelating agent, so that lithium and magnesium can be separated from brine simultaneously – a key step in the extraction process and one of the most complex to achieve. This could make it feasible to source lithium from tougher brine conditions, including those in high-altitude salt flats where the magnesium content is especially high.

In traditional mining, magnesium often acts as a lithium contaminant, and is left behind as waste that can degrade surrounding soils. Instead, the EANLF efficiently separates out the two metals. As Dr Zhikao Li, co-leader of the research, explained to Springwise, these magnesium salts “can be converted into high-value magnesium products, enhancing the economic viability of the process and reducing the environmental impact.”

Testing at Longmu Co salt lake brines in China demonstrated a potential lithium extraction rate of 90 per cent – up from the 30-50 per cent efficiency rate that’s achieved using conventional, evaporation-based methods. EANLF also consumes much less freshwater than traditional methods, and may even generate freshwater depending on the original brine composition. Plus, the process takes a matter of weeks or months, whereas ordinary extraction can take up to two years.

Next in the team’s sights is pilot-scale and field testing to validate the efficiency and adaptability of its extraction process in real-world salt lake environments. By focusing on optimising membrane performance, enhancing separation efficiency, and minimising operational costs, the team aims to establish large-scale projects in the next three to five years and promote adoption of the process among industry partners.

Written By: Duncan Whitmore and Matilda Cox