Bioprocessing of lithium brines

锂盐水的生物处理

• 批准号: BB/X011658/1
• 负责人: Laura Newsome
• 金额: $ 33.42万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF EXETER
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FX011658%2F1
• 关键词: Bioprocessing; lithium; brines

Global heating due to greenhouse gas emissions is already disrupting the natural world and human society. We must reduce and eliminate our greenhouse gas emissions to prevent catastrophic climate change. This means generating electricity from renewable sources such as solar, wind and geothermal and using vehicles powered by electricity. As renewable energy sources can be intermittent (e.g. the wind doesn't blow all the time), we need to be able to store the energy generated using batteries. Electric vehicles also need lightweight batteries. Making lots of batteries will therefore be a key part of our transition to a society with low greenhouse gas emissions.Most modern batteries use the chemical element lithium as a main component. Movement of the positively charged lithium through the battery structure stores and releases the electrical energy, meaning that to make many more batteries, we need a lot more lithium. At present we get lithium from two main sources: mining rocks rich in lithium (mostly in Australia) and extracting lithium from salty water (called brine) stored in rocks (mostly in South America). Lithium-rich brines can also be found in rocks in the UK, including in Cornwall, which could be used to give the UK a reliable lithium supply for battery manufacture. These Cornish brines are hot when they are pumped out - as well as containing lithium they are a source of geothermal heat and power from which electricity can be generated. This project will use biotechnology to help recover lithium from geothermal brines. Although technology exists to extract lithium from brine, other chemical elements in the brine can cause scaling (much like in a kettle) in the pipes and clog up the system, which then requires expensive cleaning with toxic chemicals. In this research we will use bacteria that can make chalk-like minerals from the elements in the brine to remove problematic elements at the beginning of the lithium extraction process. After this we will use algae called diatoms to remove silica from the brine to prevent another cause of scaling. We will work with an industrial partner, Cornish Lithium, to build a pilot-scale extraction system of up to 1000 litres to test whether these processes could be used in commercial lithium extraction.This project aims to find new ways in which this biotechnology can contribute to the circular economy. Firstly, we will investigate if we can use waste products (cow urine) to feed the bacteria that make the chalk-like minerals. Secondly, we will test whether the waste materials from the bacteria and diatom treatment tanks can be used to improve local agricultural soils which are nutrient poor and acidic. Finally, we will perform a life cycle assessment to find out how the carbon footprint, environmental impacts, costs and benefits of the system compared with other technologies.

温室气体排放导致的全球变暖已经在扰乱自然界和人类社会。我们必须减少和消除我们的温室气体排放，以防止灾难性的气候变化。这意味着利用太阳能、风能和地热等可再生能源发电，并使用电力驱动的车辆。由于可再生能源可能是间歇性的（例如，风不会一直吹），我们需要能够存储使用电池产生的能量。电动汽车也需要轻质电池。因此，大量生产电池将是我们向低温室气体排放社会转型的关键部分。大多数现代电池都使用化学元素锂作为主要成分。带正电的锂在电池结构中的运动储存和释放电能，这意味着要制造更多的电池，我们需要更多的锂。目前，我们从两个主要来源获得锂：开采富含锂的岩石（主要在澳大利亚）和从岩石中储存的盐水（称为盐水）中提取锂（主要在南美洲）。在英国的岩石中也可以找到富含锂的盐水，包括康沃尔郡，这可以用来为英国电池制造提供可靠的锂供应。这些康沃尔语盐水在被抽出时是热的--除了含有锂之外，它们还是地热和电力的来源，可以从中发电。该项目将利用生物技术帮助从地热卤水中回收锂。虽然存在从盐水中提取锂的技术，但盐水中的其他化学元素会导致管道结垢（就像水壶中的结垢一样）并堵塞系统，然后需要使用有毒化学品进行昂贵的清洁。在这项研究中，我们将使用可以从盐水中的元素中制造白垩状矿物的细菌，以在锂提取过程开始时去除有问题的元素。在此之后，我们将使用称为硅藻的藻类来去除盐水中的二氧化硅，以防止结垢的另一个原因。我们将与工业合作伙伴康沃尔语锂公司合作，建立一个高达1000升的中试规模提取系统，以测试这些工艺是否可以用于商业锂提取。该项目旨在寻找这种生物技术为循环经济做出贡献的新方法。首先，我们将研究是否可以使用废物（牛尿）来喂养制造白垩状矿物质的细菌。第二，我们会测试细菌和硅藻处理池的废料可否用于改善本港贫养和酸性的农业土壤。最后，我们将进行生命周期评估，以了解该系统与其他技术相比的碳足迹，环境影响，成本和效益。