Editing Lithium carbonate (section)

==Production==
Lithium is extracted from primarily two sources: [[spodumene]] in [[pegmatite]] deposits, and lithium salts in underground [[brine pool]]s.  About 82,000 tons were produced in 2020, showing significant and consistent growth.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/606684/world-production-of-lithium/|title=Global lithium production 2020|access-date=2021-06-03|archive-date=2021-06-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603140725/https://www.statista.com/statistics/606684/world-production-of-lithium/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===From underground brine reservoirs===
In the [[Salar de Atacama]] in the [[Atacama Desert]] of Northern Chile, lithium carbonate and hydroxide are produced from brine.<ref name="SQM-SUS">{{cite web |title=Sustainability of lithium production in Chile |url=https://www.sqm.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/SQM_-_Sustainable_Lithium_-_English.pdf |website=SQM |access-date=1 December 2020 |archive-date=5 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201105191714/https://www.sqm.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/SQM_-_Sustainable_Lithium_-_English.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite conference |last1=Telsnig |first1=Thomas |last2=Potz |first2=Christian |last3=Haas |first3=Jannik |last4=Eltrop |first4=Ludger |last5=Palma-Behnke |first5=Rodrigo |title=Opportunities to integrate solar technologies into the Chilean lithium mining industry – reducing process related GHG emissions of a strategic storage resource |conference=Solarpaces 2016: International Conference on Concentrating Solar Power and Chemical Energy Systems |series=AIP Conference Proceedings |date=2017 |volume=1850 |issue=1 |page=110017 |doi=10.1063/1.4984491|bibcode=2017AIPC.1850k0017T |doi-access=free }}</ref>

The process pumps lithium rich brine from below ground into shallow pans for evaporation. The brine contains many different dissolved ions, and as their concentration increases, salts precipitate out of solution and sink.  The remaining [[supernatant]] liquid is used for the next step. The sequence of pans may vary depending on the concentration of ions in a particular source of brine.

In the first pan, [[halite]] (sodium chloride or common salt) crystallises.  This has little economic value and is discarded.  The supernatant, with ever increasing concentration of dissolved solids, is transferred successively to the [[sylvinite]] (sodium potassium chloride) pan, the [[carnalite]] (potassium magnesium chloride) pan and finally a pan designed to maximise the concentration of lithium chloride. The process takes about 15 months.  The concentrate (30-35% lithium chloride solution) is trucked to Salar del Carmen. There, [[boron]] and magnesium are removed (typically residual boron is removed by solvent extraction and/or [[ion exchange]] and magnesium by raising the [[pH]] above 10 with [[sodium hydroxide]])<ref>{{cite web 
|last1=Dry 
|first1=Mike 
|title=Extraction of Lithium from Brine – Old and New Chemistry 
|url=http://downloads.aqsim.com/Extraction%20of%20Lithium%20from%20Brine%20%2013%20Old%20and%20New%20Chemistry.pdf 
|website=Critical Materials Symposium, EXTRACTION 2018, Ottawa, August 26–29 
|access-date=1 December 2020 
|archive-date=6 October 2021 
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006135312/http://downloads.aqsim.com/Extraction%20of%20Lithium%20from%20Brine%20%2013%20Old%20and%20New%20Chemistry.pdf 
|url-status=dead 
}}</ref> then in the final step, by addition of [[sodium carbonate]], the desired lithium carbonate is precipitated out, separated, and processed.

Some of the by-products from the evaporation process may also have economic value.

There is considerable attention to the use of water in this water poor region. [[Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile|SQM]] commissioned a [[life-cycle analysis]] (LCA) which concluded that water consumption for SQM's lithium hydroxide and carbonate is significantly lower than the average consumption by production from the main ore-based process, using [[spodumene]]. A more general LCA suggests the opposite for extraction from reservoirs.<ref name="BBC" >{{cite web |last1=Early |first1=Catherine |title=The new 'gold rush' for green lithium |url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20201124-how-geothermal-lithium-could-revolutionise-green-energy |website=Future Planet |publisher=BBC |access-date=2 December 2020 |date=25 Nov 2020 |archive-date=13 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240213053623/https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20201124-how-geothermal-lithium-could-revolutionise-green-energy |url-status=live }}</ref>

The majority of brine based production is in the "[[lithium triangle]]" in South America.

=== From "geothermal" brine ===

A potential source of lithium is the leachates of [[Geothermal electricity|geothermal wells]], carried to the surface.<ref name="bourcier">Parker, Ann. [https://www.llnl.gov/str/JanFeb05/Bourcier.html Mining Geothermal Resources] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120917035952/https://www.llnl.gov/str/JanFeb05/Bourcier.html |date=17 September 2012 }}. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory</ref> Recovery of lithium has been demonstrated in the field; the lithium is separated by simple precipitation and filtration.<ref name="Simbol">Patel, P. (16 November 2011) [http://www.technologyreview.com/news/426131/startup-to-capture-lithium-from-geothermal-plants/ Startup to Capture Lithium from Geothermal Plants] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130203195827/http://www.technologyreview.com/news/426131/startup-to-capture-lithium-from-geothermal-plants/ |date=2013-02-03 }}. technologyreview.com</ref> The process and environmental costs are primarily those of the already-operating well; net environmental impacts may thus be positive.<ref name="NYT">Wald, M. (28 September 2011) [https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/28/business/energy-environment/simbol-materials-plans-to-extract-lithium-from-geothermal-plants.html Start-Up in California Plans to Capture Lithium, and Market Share] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170408033249/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/28/business/energy-environment/simbol-materials-plans-to-extract-lithium-from-geothermal-plants.html |date=8 April 2017 }}. The New York Times</ref>

The brine of [[United Downs Deep Geothermal Power]] project near [[Redruth]] is claimed by [[Cornish Lithium]] to be valuable due to its high lithium concentration (220&nbsp;mg/L) with low magnesium (<5&nbsp;mg/L) and total dissolved solids content of <29g/L,<ref>{{cite web |title=Cornish Lithium Releases Globally Significant Lithium Grades |url=https://cornishlithium.com/company-announcements/cornish-lithium-releases-globally-significant-lithium-grades/ |website=Cornish Lithium |date=17 September 2020 |access-date=17 July 2021 |archive-date=17 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717144259/https://cornishlithium.com/company-announcements/cornish-lithium-releases-globally-significant-lithium-grades/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and a flow rate of 40-60l/s.<ref name="BBC"/>

===From ore===

α-spodumene is roasted at 1100&nbsp;°C for 1h to make β-spodumene, then roasted at 250&nbsp;°C for 10 minutes with sulphuric acid.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Meshram |first1=Pratima |last2=Pandey |first2=B. D. |last3=Mankhand |first3=T. R. |title=Extraction of lithium from primary and secondary sources by pre-treatment, leaching and separation: A comprehensive review |journal=Hydrometallurgy |date=1 December 2014 |volume=150 |pages=192–208 |doi=10.1016/j.hydromet.2014.10.012 |bibcode=2014HydMe.150..192M |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304386X14002278 |access-date=2 Dec 2020 |archive-date=13 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613182331/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304386X14002278 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="SQM-SUS"/>

As of 2020, Australia was the world's largest producer of lithium intermediates,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2020/mcs2020-lithium.pdf|title=Mineral Commodity Summaries 2020|last=Jaskula|first=Brian W.|date=January 2020|website=U.S. Geological Survey|access-date=29 June 2020|archive-date=1 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101085310/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2020/mcs2020-lithium.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> all based on spodumene.

In recent years mining companies have begun exploration of [[lithium]] projects throughout [[North America]], [[South America]] and [[Australia]] to identify economic deposits that can potentially bring new supplies of lithium carbonate online to meet the growing demand for the product.<ref>{{cite web
| url= https://www.juniorminingnetwork.com/news-topics/topic/lithium.html
| title= Junior mining companies exploring for lithium
| agency= www.juniorminingnetwork.com
| access-date= 2017-03-30
| archive-date= 2017-03-31
| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170331034435/https://www.juniorminingnetwork.com/news-topics/topic/lithium.html

}}</ref>

===From clay===
In 2020 [[Tesla Motors]] announced a revolutionary process to extract lithium from clay in Nevada using only salt and no acid.  This was met with scepticism.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Scheyder |first1=Ernest |title=Tesla's Nevada lithium plan faces stark obstacles on path to production |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/tesla-batteryday-lithium/teslas-nevada-lithium-plan-faces-stark-obstacles-on-path-to-production-idINL2N2GK2E1 |access-date=2 December 2020 |work=Reuters |date=24 Sep 2020 |archive-date=18 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118124848/https://www.reuters.com/article/tesla-batteryday-lithium/teslas-nevada-lithium-plan-faces-stark-obstacles-on-path-to-production-idINL2N2GK2E1 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===From end-of-life batteries===
A few small companies are [[Battery recycling|recycling spent batteries]], focusing on recovering copper and cobalt. Some recover lithium carbonate alongside the compound Li<sub>2</sub>Al<sub>4</sub>(CO<sub>3</sub>)(OH)<sub>12</sub>⋅3H<sub>2</sub>O
also.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Serna-Guerrero |first1=Rodrigo |title=A Critical Review of Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Processes from a Circular Economy Perspective |journal=Batteries |page=68 |doi=10.3390/batteries5040068 |date=5 November 2019 |volume=5 |issue=4 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Dolotko Gehrke Malliaridou Sieweck 2023 p. ">{{cite journal | last1=Dolotko | first1=Oleksandr | last2=Gehrke | first2=Niclas | last3=Malliaridou | first3=Triantafillia | last4=Sieweck | first4=Raphael | last5=Herrmann | first5=Laura | last6=Hunzinger | first6=Bettina | last7=Knapp | first7=Michael | last8=Ehrenberg | first8=Helmut | title=Universal and efficient extraction of lithium for lithium-ion battery recycling using mechanochemistry | journal=Communications Chemistry | publisher=Springer Science and Business Media LLC | volume=6 | issue=1 | date=March 28, 2023 | page=49 | issn=2399-3669 | doi=10.1038/s42004-023-00844-2 | pmid=36977798 | pmc=10049983 }}</ref><ref name="Kropachev Kalabskiy 2020 p=106470">{{cite journal | last1=Kropachev | first1=Andrey | last2=Kalabskiy | first2=Igor | title=Hydrometallurgical preparation of lithium aluminum carbonate hydroxide hydrate, Li2Al4(CO3)(OH)12·3H2O from aluminate solution | journal=Minerals Engineering | publisher=Elsevier BV | volume=155 | year=2020 | issn=0892-6875 | doi=10.1016/j.mineng.2020.106470 | page=106470}}</ref><ref name="Dave Borlace 2023">{{cite AV media|title=Battery recycling just got a whole lot better.|type=YouTube video|publisher=Just Have a Think|location=London|date=15 May 2023|people=Dave Borlace|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFmBX0Uq0wY|access-date=15 May 2023|archive-date=14 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230514212801/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFmBX0Uq0wY|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Other===
In April 2017 MGX Minerals reported it had received independent confirmation of its rapid [[lithium]] extraction process to recover lithium and other valuable minerals from [[oil and gas]] wastewater [[brine]].
<ref>{{cite web
|url = https://www.juniorminingnetwork.com/junior-miner-news/press-releases/28-cse/xmg/31459-mgx-minerals-receives-independent-confirmation-of-rapid-lithium-extraction-process.html
|title = MGX Minerals Receives Independent Confirmation of Rapid Lithium Extraction Process
|date = 20 April 2017
|agency = www.juniorminingnetwork.com
|access-date = 2017-04-20
|archive-date = 2017-04-20
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170420132515/https://www.juniorminingnetwork.com/junior-miner-news/press-releases/28-cse/xmg/31459-mgx-minerals-receives-independent-confirmation-of-rapid-lithium-extraction-process.html
|url-status = live
}}</ref>

[[Electrodialysis]] has been proposed to extract lithium from seawater, but it is not commercially viable.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.technologyreview.com/s/538036/quest-to-mine-seawater-for-lithium-advances/|title=Quest to Mine Seawater for Lithium Advances|last=Martin|first=Richard|date=2015-06-08|website=MIT Technology Review|access-date=2016-02-10|archive-date=2020-03-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200308210028/https://www.technologyreview.com/s/538036/quest-to-mine-seawater-for-lithium-advances/|url-status=live}}</ref>