LiFT - Lithium for Future Technology

与世界上许多其他国家一样，英国致力于实现低碳经济。英国计划到2050年实现二氧化碳净零排放，该计划的一个关键组成部分是到2035年禁止销售新的汽油和柴油汽车，并转向电动汽车。这些车辆将需要包含许多由金属制成的组件的蓄电池，而这些组件的供应有限。例如，最近一封由Richard Herrington教授（NHM在该提案上的首席研究员）撰写的公开信解释说，如果英国要实现其电动汽车的目标，它将需要世界上目前锂年产量的四分之三——锂是现代电动汽车电池的重要组成部分。虽然目前的锂产量足以满足全球需求，但如果我们要达到温室气体排放目标，就需要研究额外的锂资源。该提案旨在更好地了解地球系统将锂浓缩到矿床中的过程，从矿床中开采锂可以以经济上可行且对环境负责的方式进行。我们的中心假设是，主要的锂矿床主要形成于板块构造导致大陆碰撞的部分地区。我们将进一步验证这样的假设，即在这些碰撞环境中存在构造过程的“生命周期”，这反映在不同类型锂矿床的形成中。一般来说，在第一阶段，锂中度集中在形成于该环境的火成岩中。锂是一种相对可溶的元素，它很容易从这些岩石中浸出和风化（特别是通过热地热），富含锂的水可能积聚在盆地中，这些盆地也是在大陆碰撞期间形成的。如果气候干旱，水蒸发形成富含锂的盐水，这本身就是一个经济上可行的锂矿床。在这些盐水盆地中，复杂的化学过程和极端的微生物生活可能在元素循环和锂富集到沉积物中发挥了作用。随着时间的推移，地热和火山活动停止，富含锂的沉积物可能被掩埋，从而保存数百万年。随后，这些埋藏的岩石也可能作为可提取的锂的来源。随着进一步埋藏和加热，这些富含锂的沉积物可以达到熔化的温度，形成富含锂的伟晶岩和花岗岩。同样，这些岩石可能含有足够浓度和数量的锂，代表了一种锂的来源，可以提取出来，最终用于电动汽车电池。在生命周期的每个阶段，锂的来源以及它是如何运输和捕获的都存在不确定性。不同类型的锂矿床提取锂的难易程度也各不相同，我们需要考虑如何以对环境负责的方式提取锂。我们将召集一群科学家来解决这些问题，他们在锂电池的各个方面都有相当的专业知识。我们将使用广泛的技术，从简单的地质观测到高度复杂的同位素分析和微生物技术，来追踪锂的行为。我们将与行业合作伙伴合作，确定可以在最大限度地减少对环境损害的同时提取有利可图的矿床类型，我们将研究利用微生物工艺提取更可持续锂的方法的潜力。我们预计我们的研究将为锂资源的勘探提供新的目标。这不仅有助于确保英国的低碳经济，也将为英国和其他国家提供重要的经济利益。

Along with many other countries worldwide, the UK is committed to achieving a low carbon economy. There is a plan to achieve net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, with a key component of this plan being a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2035, and a switch to electric vehicles. These vehicles will require storage batteries that contain many components made of metals that have limited supplies. For example, a recent open letter authored by Professor Richard Herrington (principal investigator for the NHM on this proposal) explained that if the UK is to meet its electric car targets, it will require three quarters of the world's current total annual production of lithium - an essential component of modern electric vehicle batteries. Whilst current rates of lithium production are sufficient to meet global demand, we need to investigate additional lithium resources if we are to meet greenhouse gas emission targets. This proposal seeks to better understand the Earth system processes that concentrate lithium into mineral deposits, from which lithium can be mined in both an economically feasible and an environmentally responsible manner. Our central hypothesis is that major lithium deposits are largely formed in parts of the world where continental collision occurs as a consequence of plate tectonics.We will further test the hypothesis that within these collisional environments there is a "life-cycle" of tectonic processes that is reflected in the formation of different types of lithium deposits. Broadly speaking, in the first stage lithium is moderately concentrated in igneous rocks that are formed in this setting. Lithium is a relatively soluble element, which is readily leached and weathered from these rocks (particularly by hot geothermal water) and the lithium-rich waters may accumulate in basins that are also formed during continental collision. If the climate is arid, the waters evaporate to form a lithium-rich brine that can be an economically viable lithium deposit in its own right. In these brine basins, complex chemical processes and extreme microbial life may play a role in cycling elements and concentrating the lithium into sediments. Over time, the geothermal and volcanic activity ceases and the lithium-rich sediments may be buried and thus preserved for millions of years. Subsequently, these buried rocks may also serve as a source of lithium that can be extracted. With further burial and then heating, these lithium-rich sediments can reach temperatures at which they undergo melting and the formation of lithium-enriched pegmatites and granites. Again, these rocks may contain sufficient concentrations and amounts of lithium to represent a source of lithium that can be extracted for ultimate incorporation in electric vehicle batteries.At each stage of the life-cycle there are uncertainties regarding the source of lithium, and how it is transported and trapped. The different types of lithium deposits also vary in how easy it is to extract the lithium, and we need to consider how to do this in an environmentally responsible way. We will tackle these problems by bringing together a group of scientists who have considerable expertise in all aspects of this lithium journey. We will use a wide range of techniques, from simple geological observations through to highly sophisticated isotopic analyses and microbiological techniques, to track the behaviour of lithium. We will work alongside industry partners to identify the types of deposits that can be profitably extracted while simultaneously minimising any damage to the environment, and we will investigate the potential for more sustainable methods of lithium extraction using microbial processes. We anticipate that our research will provide industry with new targets for exploration for lithium resources. This will not only help secure a low carbon economy for the UK, but also provide important economic benefits to the UK and other nations.