A review of lithium extraction from natural resources

• Published in: International journal of minerals, metallurgy and materials Vol. 30; no. 2; pp. 209 - 224
• Main Authors: Liu, Yubo, Ma, Baozhong, Lü, Yingwei, Wang, Chengyan, Chen, Yongqiang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Beijing University of Science and Technology Beijing 01.02.2023; Springer Nature B.V; Beijing Key Laboratory of Green Recovery and Extraction of Rare and Precious Metals,University of Science and Technology Beijing,Beijing 100083,China; School of Metallurgical and Ecological Engineering,University of Science and Technology Beijing,Beijing 100083,China%State Key Laboratory of Advanced Metallurgy,University of Science and Technology Beijing,Beijing 100083,China; State Key Laboratory of Advanced Metallurgy,University of Science and Technology Beijing,Beijing 100083,China; School of Metallurgical and Ecological Engineering,University of Science and Technology Beijing,Beijing 100083,China
• Subjects: 21st century; Aluminum; Ceramics; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Composites; Continuous casting; Corrosion and Coatings; Energy industry; Fusion; Glass; Industrial applications; Industrial development; Invited Review; Lithium; Materials Science; Metallic Materials; Metallurgy; Methods; Minerals; Natural Materials; Natural resources; Phase transitions; Raw materials; Spodumene; Surfaces and Interfaces; Thin Films; Tribology; lithium; brine; lepidolite; extraction; spodumene
• ISSN: 1674-4799; 1869-103X
• DOI: 10.1007/s12613-022-2544-y

Lithium is considered to be the most important energy metal of the 21st century. Because of the development trend of global electrification, the consumption of lithium has increased significantly over the last decade, and it is foreseeable that its demand will continue to increase for a long time. Limited by the total amount of lithium on the market, lithium extraction from natural resources is still the first choice for the rapid development of emerging industries. This paper reviews the recent technological developments in the extraction of lithium from natural resources. Existing methods are summarized by the main resources, such as spodumene, lepidolite, and brine. The advantages and disadvantages of each method are compared. Finally, reasonable suggestions are proposed for the development of lithium extraction from natural resources based on the understanding of existing methods. This review provides a reference for the research, development, optimization, and industrial application of future processes.