Solar-driven membrane separation for direct lithium extraction from artificial salt-lake brine

Abstract The demand for lithium extraction from salt-lake brines is increasing to address the lithium supply shortage. Nanofiltration separation technology with high Mg 2+ /Li + separation efficiency has shown great potential for lithium extraction. However, it usually requires diluting the brine with a large quantity of freshwater and only yields Li + -enriched solution. Inspired by the process of selective ion uptake and salt secretion in mangroves, we report here the direct extraction of lithium from salt-lake brines by utilizing the synergistic effect of ion separation membrane and solar-driven evaporator. The ion separation membrane-based solar evaporator is a multilayer structure consisting of an upper…

• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Awards: 22208229, 21988102, 2022YFB3805900, 22072104
• GO
  Government of Jiangsu Province
• NS
  Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province

  Award: BK20220501
• NK
  National Key Research and Development Program of China

  Awards: 2022YFB3805900, 2022YFB3805903