I-Corps: Advanced Salt Electrolysis Process for the Domestic Refinement of Battery Minerals

I-Corps项目更广泛的影响和商业潜力在于，通过催化材料设计和反应器结构的创新，可以更高效、更低成本地进行高效盐裂解电解。目前最先进的电解技术使用潜在昂贵的催化材料，并且由于其未优化的电池设计，效率有限。即将开发的电解技术利用低成本的碳基流动电极，具有高催化活性，并将液流电池设计的最新创新融入电化学矿物精炼中。其结果可能是降低成本，减少传统上高排放的化学过程对环境的影响。这个I-Corps项目是基于潜在的新工艺技术的发展。这项创新是从天然盐水中提取的锂的电气化单步转化。与传统的水热/化学转化工艺相比，该技术具有明显的经济和环境优势，并可能通过生产用于吸附剂再生的盐酸来支持上游化学工艺。这种电解技术可能允许离子选择性，闭环回收，并且与需要稳定供应试剂的现有精制工艺相比，可以节省能源消耗和碳排放成本。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the potential development of technologies that could perform high-efficiency salt splitting electrolysis more efficiently and at reduced cost via innovations in catalytic materials design and reactor architecture. Current state-of-the-art electrolysis technologies utilize potentially expensive catalytic materials and can have limited efficiency due to their unoptimized cell design. The electrolysis technology to be developed utilizes low-cost carbon-based flow-electrodes that have high-catalytic activity and incorporate the latest innovations from flow-battery cell design into electrochemical mineral refining. The result may be a reduction in cost and a reduction in the environmental impact of what is traditionally a high-emissions chemical process.This I-Corps project is based on the development of potentially novel process technology. This innovation is the electrified, single-step conversion of lithium extracted from natural brines. This technology could have distinct economic and environmental advantages over conventional hydrothermal/chemical conversion processes and may support upstream chemical processes by producing hydrochloride for sorbent regeneration. This electrolysis technology may allow for ion-selective, closed-loop recycling, and could offer cost savings in energy consumption and carbon emissions compared to existing refinement processes that require a consistent supply of reagents.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.