https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2019.117317Get rights and content
Highlights
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Membrane-based technologies for lithium recovery from water resource are reviewed.
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Technologies covered in review include NF, SLM, IIM, LISM, MDC, S-ED and PSMCDI.
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The advantages and challenges of these membrane-based technologies are explained.
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The techno-economic feasibility of these technologies is evaluated.
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The diresssssctions for future research and development are identified.
Abstract
Lithium production has become increasingly critical for sustainable development. The extraction of lithium from aqueous sources, particularly salt-lake brine, has become a trend in the lithium recovery industry because of its low cost and abundant reserves. Among various technologies applied for lithium recovery, membrane processes driven by pressure, electrical field, and thermal gradient have received considerable attention in the past few decades because of their high energy efficiency and low environmental impact. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the advantages and challenges of the current membrane-based technologies applied to the recovery of a water lithium resource. Here, we highlight that the combination of membrane processes (e.g. nanofiltration, selective electrodialysis, and membrane distillation crystallization) with a conventional lithium precipitation process will lead to higher performance efficiency and lower cost. Although the membrane-based separation technology is technically feasible, it is restricted by its high capital and operating costs. Therefore, the future development of membrane-based technologies should include efforts for the improvement of the separation efficiency, material stability, and some engineering aspects such as membrane fouling control, module design, and process optimisation.
Keywords
Lithium recovery
Water lithium resources
Membrane-based technology
Hybrid membrane process
Techno-economic evaluation
Abbreviations
CDI
Capacitive deionization
IIM
Ion imprinted membrane
LISM
Lithium ion-sieve membrane
MCDI
Membrane capacitive deionization
MDC
Membrane distillation crystallization
PSMCDI
Permselective exchange membrane capacitive deionization
S-ED
Selective electrodialysis
SLM
Supported liquid membrane
© 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
