Abstract
Meeting the increasing demand for lithium in vehicle electrification and renewable energy storage requires innovations in lithium-ion (Li+) separations. Traditional solar evaporation methods for lithium recovery are slow and consume tremendous volumes of water and secondary chemicals (acids and bases). This study introduces a bipolar membrane capacitive deionization (BPM-CDI) unit for direct lithium extraction and LiOH production without the external addition of acids and bases. Utilizing de-lithiated lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) coated carbon cloth electrodes, the BPM-CDI unit demonstrates selective Li+ capture over competing ions. Molecular dynamics simulations and H-cell experiments elucidate pH inversion mechanisms during Li+ release, yielding LiOH. The BPM-CDI platform efficiently removes Li+ from synthetic brines featuring 8x higher Mg2+ concentrations (200 ppm Mg2+) and 26x higher Na+ concentrations (682 ppm Na+), achieving a LiOH concentration of 124 ppm (36 ppm Li+) after 8 cycles of recirculation. Post-mortem analysis confirms electrode integrity and stability. BPM-CDI integrated with selective electrodes is a promising electrochemical separation-reactor platform for lithium recovery while producing LiOH.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | 103502 |
Journal | Journal of the Electrochemical Society |
Volume | 171 |
Issue number | 10 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 1 2024 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
- Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Surfaces, Coatings and Films
- Electrochemistry
- Materials Chemistry