Lithium technology developers look for ways to recycle water

The mining industry is working to recycle freshwater, while developing direct extraction technologies. lithium (DLE), in its race to reinvent the way of producing the metal for batteries, key to the transition to green energy, executives said.

Rising global demand for lithium has sparked great interest in DLE technologies, which use less land and can operate much faster than hard rock mining and brine evaporation ponds, the traditional ways of processing the white metal. .

However, some types of DLE technologies require 180 metric tons or more of water to produce a single lithium, a consumption that has sparked controversy in arid regions seeking to conserve drinking water and has counteracted DLE’s supposed promise of curb the large consumption of water by the mining industry.

Now, DLE advocates are racing to push freshwater recycling while perfecting the technology, part of a campaign to make sure they don’t lose community support before their industry has a chance to be fully commercial.

“If we are not able to recycle water well and reduce our water footprint, they are going to crush us,” said John Burba, CEO of International Battery Metals (IBAT), at the Reuters Events Industry Transition conference, held this week in Pittsburgh.

“DLE is a process that requires a lot of water,” he explained.

Burba told the conference that IBAT – which has been in talks to license its DLE technology to Exxon Mobil, Chevron and other companies – is taking back the 98.5% of fresh water used during its lithium production process, and aims to raise the percentage even further.

The private company EnergyX, which has General Motors as an investor, says it can recover up to 90% of fresh water, a figure that its scientists are working to increase.

“What we want is to reach five, ten or fifteen (metric) tons of fresh water per ton of lithium,” said Teague Egan, CEO of EnergyX.

Controlled Thermal Resources, which is developing a geothermal lithium project in California’s Salton Sea to supply GM and Stellantis, recycles a gallon of water at least eight times and will produce water through steam from its geothermal energy process, the company said. CEO Rod Colwell.

“How many times can we recycle? That’s really the big question.”Colwell said.

E3 Lithium, which is backed by Exxon’s Imperial Oil, began testing three DLE technologies last month in Alberta and aims to install water recycling facilities as it becomes commercial, said CEO Chris Doornbos.

“You end up having a small water treatment facility with your processing facility so you can reuse that water over and over again,” Doornbos said.

Commercial development

Each of the developers said they expect at least one DLE technology to be commercially launched by early 2025, a step that is expected to boost the entire industry.

“DLE is a tool that is growing and improving to allow us to unlock brines that may have been uneconomical in the past”said Emily Hersh, CEO of private mining explorer Luna Lithium.

While in the past many wondered whether DLE could replace traditional lithium extraction, those doubts have now been dispelled, according to executives.

“The question of whether the DLE works no longer exists. It is an engineering challenge. It is not a technological challenge”says E3’s Doornbos.

The push to reduce water consumption, executives say, should help mitigate over time some of the electric vehicle industry’s concerns about the environmental impact of mining in the face of growing demand for lithium, executives added.

“All car manufacturers are aware that lithium is the factor limiting the production of electric vehicles”, said EnergyX’s Egan.

Source: Reuters