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。中国有一项到2050年实现二氧化碳净零排放的计划，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。这些车辆将需要含有许多由金属制成的组件的蓄电池，而这些金属的供应有限。例如，NHM首席研究员理查德·赫林顿教授最近写的一封公开信解释说，如果英国要实现其电动汽车目标，它将需要世界目前锂年产量的四分之三--锂是现代电动汽车电池的基本成分。虽然目前的锂生产速度足以满足全球需求，但如果我们要实现温室气体排放目标，我们需要调查更多的锂资源。这项提议旨在更好地了解地球系统将锂浓缩成矿藏的过程，从矿藏中可以以经济可行和对环境负责的方式开采锂。我们的中心假设是，主要的锂矿床主要形成于世界上由于板块构造而发生大陆碰撞的部分地区。我们将进一步检验这一假设，即在这些碰撞环境中，存在一个反映在不同类型锂矿床形成中的构造过程的“生命周期”。广义地说，在第一阶段，锂在这种背景下形成的火成岩中适度集中。锂是一种相对可溶的元素，很容易从这些岩石中淋溶和风化(特别是被热水)，富锂水可能聚集在也是在大陆碰撞期间形成的盆地中。如果气候干燥，海水蒸发形成富锂卤水，本身就可以成为经济上可行的锂矿床。在这些卤水盆地中，复杂的化学过程和极端的微生物生命可能在元素循环和将锂浓缩到沉积物中发挥作用。随着时间的推移，地热和火山活动停止，富锂沉积物可能被埋藏起来，从而保存数百万年。随后，这些埋藏的岩石也可能成为可以提取的锂的来源。随着进一步的埋藏和加热，这些富锂沉积物的温度可以达到融化并形成富锂伟晶岩和花岗岩的温度。同样，这些岩石可能含有足够的浓度和数量的锂，以代表锂的来源，可以提取出来，最终并入电动汽车电池。在生命周期的每个阶段，关于锂的来源，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度也不同，我们需要考虑如何以对环境负责的方式做到这一点。我们将通过召集一群在锂之旅的各个方面都拥有相当专业知识的科学家来解决这些问题。我们将使用广泛的技术，从简单的地质观察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，确定可以盈利开采的矿藏类型，同时将对环境的破坏降至最低，并将调查使用微生物工艺进行更可持续的锂提取方法的可能性。我们预计，我们的研究将为业界提供锂资源勘探的新目标。这不仅有助于英国实现低碳经济，也将为英国和其他国家带来重要的经济效益。

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.