Controls on the concentration of lithium in oilfield brines

由于对全球变暖的担忧，一些国家出台了限制内燃机未来使用的立法。因此，电动汽车正在取代化石燃料驱动的汽车，对锂离子电池的需求迅速增长，以提供必要的能量存储。这将导致可负担的锂资源短缺。油田卤水是石油生产的副产品，可能含有高浓度的锂，因此有可能有助于缓解这种短缺。拟议的研究将与挪威Equinor ASA的子公司Equinor Canada Ltd合作进行。该项目将调查与Bakken组黑色页岩相关的盐水中锂的来源，Bakken组从萨斯喀彻温省南部和马尼托巴省西南部延伸到美国。由于下伏蒸发岩（锂的常见来源）中锂含量极低，而页岩中锂含量丰富，页岩可能是卤水中锂的主要来源。因此，本研究的目的是建立一个模型，预测黑色页岩和油田卤水之间的锂分配，并确定可用于确定特定黑色页岩演替是否可能产生富锂卤水的标准。这项研究将由一个采用EDI最佳实践的团队进行，并将包括确定盐水以及页岩有机和无机部分中锂和其他元素的浓度。这将通过页岩矿物学的详细研究和锂同位素研究来补充，锂同位素研究将利用已知在有机和无机页岩组分之间发生的6Li和7Li的强烈分馏。通过展示卤水中的锂浓度与有机和无机部分的锂浓度之间的关系，该研究将建立一个预测模型，用于评估与黑色页岩相关的卤水中的锂潜力。该研究将有助于促进加拿大锂盐资源的勘探，并协助Equinor评估北达科他州和萨斯喀彻温省Bakken组盐水以及目前在纽芬兰海上作业中生产的盐水的锂潜力。

Concerns over global warming have led several countries to introduce legislation that limits the future use of internal combustion engines. As a result, electric vehicles are replacing fossil fuel-powered vehicles and there is a rapidly growing demand for lithium-ion batteries to provide the necessary energy storage. This will lead to a shortage of affordable lithium resources. Oilfield brines, which are by-products of petroleum production, may contain significant concentrations of lithium and thus have the potential to help alleviate this shortage. The proposed research will be conducted in partnership with Equinor Canada Ltd., a subsidiary of Equinor ASA of Norway. The project will investigate the origin of lithium in brines associated with black shales of the Bakken Formation, which extends from southern Saskatchewan and SW Manitoba into the USA. As the underlying evaporites (a common source of Li) contain very little lithium, and the shales are enriched in it, the latter are the likely source of lithium in the brines. The purpose of this research is therefore to develop a model that will predict the partitioning of lithium between black shales and oilfield brines, and identify criteria that can be used to determine whether a particular black shale succession is likely to yield Li-enriched brines. The research will be conducted by a team selected using EDI best-practices, and will involve determining the concentration of lithium and other elements in the brines and the organic and inorganic fractions of the shales. This will be complemented by a detailed study of the shale mineralogy and a lithium isotope study that will take advantage of the strong fractionation of 6Li and 7Li known to occur between organic and inorganic shale fractions. By showing how lithium concentrations in brines correlate with those of the organic and inorganic fractions, the research will lead to a predictive model for evaluating the lithium potential of brines associated with black shales. The research will help promote the exploration for lithium brine resources in Canada and assist Equinor with the evaluation of the lithium potential of brines in the Bakken Formation in North Dakota and Saskatchewan and those currently produced from its offshore operations in Newfoundland.