Screening of polymers for lithium ions selectivity from brines

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Lithium (Li+) finds applications in crucial areas like rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and major applications in glass and ceramics, chemicals/pharmaceuticals, rubbers, etc. The demand for lithium is exponentially increasing as the revolution in battery technologies, and electric cars are keeping the highest momentum. However, the current supply level of lithium falls in the borderline of low-to-medium in supply and demand. This deficit in supply is, in part, due to the low efficiency of the current extraction processes using evaporation that takes years in open ponds to concentrate lithium in the solution. The environmental impact of lithium extraction is a major issue facing battery manufacturing to meet the clean standard of electric cars in the race for clean energy as opposed to fossil fuels. The challenge is to design a new lithium extraction process that is more efficient and faster than the current operations. Summit Nanotech is developing a greener and cleaner lithium extraction process with less chemical intense stages. Summit Nanotech's process involves a nanomembrane that would precondition the brine and concentrate the lithium in the solution. However, the nanomembrane does not extract specific ions (e.g., Mg2+, etc.), which pass through the membrane with the lithium. While Mg2+ ion has high commercial value too as it is used for the synthesis of MgO, the commercial grade Li+ should be free of any other ions. Hence, the Li+ should be separated from the solution. Adsorption processes using polymers or metal oxides are commonly used for water treatment due to their high efficiency. In this project, we will test several polymers for their selectivity for Li+ in the presence of Mg2+ and other ions that may pass through the nanomembrane. Finding the optimum functional groups for the Li+ adsorption and the optimum environmental conditions (e.g., temperature, pH, etc.) is the main goal of this project. By the end of this project, we can identify the top 2 candidate polymers for adsorption process downstream the nanomembrane. Integration of the polymers in the adsorption process developed in this work with Summit Nanotech's nanomembrane will lead to greener, faster, and more efficient lithium extraction.