Adsorption Plus Membranes for Salt Lake Lithium

Recently, the Jiangsu Provincial People's Government officially announced the winners of the Second Jiangsu Patent Award. Jiuwu Hi-Tech was honoured with the Jiangsu Patent Excellence Award for its "Method for Extracting Lithium from Salt Lake Brine by Adsorption" (patent number: ZL201410353274.9).

At the same time, the "Lithium Adsorbent" industry standard, drafted under the leadership of Jiuwu Hi-Tech, was officially released. One government commendation and one industry standard mark the "dual recognition" by government and industry of Jiuwu Hi-Tech's innovation strength and industrial value in the core technology field of salt lake lithium extraction.

Addressing the Pain Point: Solving the Separation Challenge in Raw Brine Lithium Extraction

With the booming development of the global new energy industry, the strategic position of lithium resources is increasingly prominent. However, China's salt lake brine resources generally face the complex characteristics of "high magnesium-lithium ratio and high sodium-lithium ratio", and conventional lithium extraction processes expose many insurmountable pain points in practical application:

Precipitation method - Long process flow requiring multiple calcination and filtration steps; lithium concentration in the leaching solution is low, and subsequent concentration consumes enormous power costs.

Solvent extraction method - Although recovery is relatively high, extractant consumption is large and costs are high; the organic solvents used pose potential pollution to the fragile salt lake ecosystem, making industrial promotion difficult.

Carbonation method - Extremely demanding on brine resource conditions, applicable only to carbonate-type salt lakes with low magnesium-lithium ratios, with limited scope of application.

Fixed bed / electrodialysis - The fixed bed adsorption cycle lasts from several hours to several days, constraining production efficiency; although electrodialysis desorption can separate lithium, filtration is time-consuming and equipment operating costs are high.

Breaking the Bottleneck: Building a Differentiated Technical Barrier

The patent for a method of extracting lithium from salt lake brine by adsorption uses Jiuwu Hi-Tech's self-developed lithium adsorbent to extract lithium resources from salt lake brine, introducing no impurity ions throughout the process, with main stages operating at ambient temperature, low energy consumption and strong adaptability to temperature. It efficiently separates magnesium and lithium by physical means, avoiding the introduction of impurities and large lithium losses of chemical methods, while overcoming the pain points of low adsorbent utilization and long operating cycles in conventional adsorption methods, and being environmentally friendly to salt lakes. This process has multiple core advantages, thoroughly solving the lithium extraction challenge in salt lakes with high magnesium-lithium and high sodium-lithium ratios, building a technical barrier and adapting to the vast majority of domestic salt lake resource development scenarios.

Technical performance: extremely strong selectivity, extremely wide adaptability

The self-developed high-performance adsorbent can precisely target and capture lithium ions, effectively avoiding interference from impurities such as magnesium, sodium and potassium, and solving the problems of low purity and excessive impurities in conventional processes. The iterated fourth-generation aluminium-based and titanium-based adsorbents have 30%-50% higher capacity than earlier versions, with working adsorption capacities of more than 10 mg/g and 12 mg/g respectively, leading the industry in extraction efficiency and stability.

Process innovation: efficient coupling and integration, rich product range

The innovative adsorption coupled with membrane process for raw brine lithium extraction requires no complex pre-treatment, has a streamlined flow and lower cost, and can mass-produce a variety of high-end lithium battery lithium salt products.

Green and low-carbon: low consumption, high efficiency, environmentally friendly

The process requires no large amounts of chemical agents and produces no secondary pollution, enabling brine recycling and aligning with the green development philosophy of new energy.

Authoritative recognition: leading technology, outstanding industrial value

The technology as a whole has reached the international leading level and has been applied at scale in salt lake projects on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, with significant economic and social benefits.

Taking Root: Benchmark Projects Demonstrate Industrial Strength

The value of a core patent is ultimately reflected in industrialization. Relying on this award-winning patent, Jiuwu Hi-Tech has built multiple industry benchmark projects, becoming one of the very few overall solution suppliers in China that simultaneously masters core materials, process technology, project construction and operational experience.

Benchmark case 1: Minmetals Salt Lake raw brine adsorption lithium extraction project

The world's first raw brine adsorption lithium extraction project, breaking the conventional cumbersome pre-treatment process and directly using salt lake raw brine to extract lithium, greatly compressing the production cycle and reducing land costs. Since commissioning, it has stably produced battery-grade lithium products with high resource recovery and lower energy consumption and emissions, and was recognized as a demonstration model for green salt lake development in China.

World's first battery-grade lithium green model

Benchmark case 2: Salt Lake Industry 40,000 t/a basic lithium salt integrated project

The largest salt lake lithium extraction project built and put into operation in China. Jiuwu Hi-Tech deeply participated in the entire construction and operation process, achieving early commissioning and immediate mass production upon commissioning, and setting industry benchmarks of 82.4% comprehensive lithium recovery and a 50.67% reduction in comprehensive energy consumption.

40,000 t/a - 82.4% recovery - 50.67% lower energy

Further reading

The Jiangsu Patent Award is established by the Jiangsu Provincial People's Government and is the highest honour in the province's patent field. It aims to commend core patents with high technical value, significant innovation advantages, outstanding industrialization results and excellent economic and social benefits, focusing on incentivizing enterprise technological innovation, promoting the transformation of patent achievements, and empowering high-quality development of the real economy. This round of selection went through strict screening at multiple levels, selecting and commending the best from a vast number of patents, and its authority and industry credibility are widely recognized.