High-purity electrolytic lithium obtained from low-purity sources using solid electrolyte

Lang, Jialiang; Jin, Yang; Liu, Kai; Long, Yuanzheng; Zhang, Haitian; Qi, Longhao; Wu, Hui; Cui, Yi

doi:10.1038/s41893-020-0485-x

High-purity electrolytic lithium obtained from low-purity sources using solid electrolyte

Journal Article · Mon Mar 02 00:00:00 EST 2020 · Nature Sustainability

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-0485-x· OSTI ID:1608483

^[1]; ^[2]; Liu, Kai ^[1]; ^[1]; Zhang, Haitian ^[1]; Qi, Longhao ^[1]; ^[1]; ^[3]

Tsinghua Univ., Beijing (China)
Zhengzhou Univ. (China)
Stanford Univ., CA (United States); SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States). Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Science (SIMES)

Lithium (Li) is an important resource for the sustainability of socioeconomic systems given its wide use in various industrial applications. The industrial production of Li metals relies on the electrolysis of a mixture consisting of high-purity lithium chloride (LiCl) and potassium chloride. However, the purification of LiCl is expensive and unsustainable, requiring a substantial amount of energy and the use of noxious chemical reagents, so that producing high-purity Li efficiently and sustainably is a challenge. In this paper we report a new method of producing high-purity electrolytic Li from low-purity LiCl using solid-state electrolyte. Taking advantage of the high Li-ion selectivity of the solid electrolyte, we directly obtained high-purity metallic Li through the electrolysis of low-purity LiCl. Our new method provides two important advantages over conventional methods: (1) the cost of producing high-purity Li is reduced by using low-purity LiCl from low-grade brine, and the simpler purification process reduces the use of energy and chemical reagents; and (2) the operating temperature of the electrolytic process decreases from 400 °C to 240 °C, leading to an additional reduction in energy use.

Research Organization:: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC); USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-76SF00515

OSTI ID:: 1608483

Journal Information:: Nature Sustainability, Journal Name: Nature Sustainability Vol. 3; ISSN 2398-9629

Publisher:: Springer NatureCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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