Lithium extraction, recycling, and refining technology

Why use electrodialysis in the lithium battery recycling process

The application of electrodialysis in the lithium battery recycling process makes the recovery more effective - including higher purity of the commodity product while decreasing the operating costs. Our unique electrodialysis technology is developed especially for lithium recycling companies.

What is lithium

Lithium is an alkali metal with excellent heat and electrical conductivity. It is highly reactive, therefore does not exist in nature on its own, but only as a constituent of salts or other stable compounds, such as lithium carbonate.

How lithium is mined

Most lithium is mined from either brine extraction (the extraction of lithium-containing salts from underground brine reservoirs, so-called salars), or ore mining (lithium-containing rock, such as spodumene).

There is an ample opportunity in lithium battery recycling when used batteries are reused into a new source of the battery-grade product.

Benefits of MEGA ED in lithium ore mining process

Purification of lithium carbonate from sulphate solutions has never been more effective since MEGA has patented its special electrodialysis.

• Massive reduction of unit operation steps (technology complexity).
• Double replacement reaction aided with selective ion-exchange membranes.
• Achieved high Li₂CO₃ purity with SO₄^2- < 100 mg/kg dry matter.
• Electrodialysis lowers the amount of water-salt solutions for handling.
• Electrodialysis is saving costs for the evaporation steps.

Find out more about lithium ore mining processing

Benefits of MEGA ED in lithium brine extraction process

The main EDR objectives in lithium chloride purification:

• Reaching the high levels of silica and boron retention in the diluate - over 97 %.
• Separation of mixture NaCl and reaching the concentration of LiCl up to 8 % w/v.
• Electrodialysis lowers the amount of water-salt solutions for handling.
• Electrodialysis is saving costs for the evaporation and crystallization steps.

Find out more about lithium brine extraction

Benefits of MEGA ED for lithium battery recycling companies

Special ED by MEGA makes recycling efficient and sustainable to recover key materials from all types of lithium-ion batteries. The main benefits of using ED in the Li-ion battery recycling process are:

• Reduction of the production complexity and waste management.
• High purity commodity Li₂CO₃ product where SO₄^2- < 0.05 % DMB.
• Possibility of mother liquor recycling to the neutralization step.
• It is possible to separate Li₂CO₃ from Na, K, and Rb salts species by precipitation following ED.

Find out more about lithium battery recycling