• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.57 no.1
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• pp.31-37
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• 2024

The surge in demand for lithium is primarily fueled by the expanding electric vehicle market, the necessity for renewable energy storage, and governmental initiatives aimed at achieving carbon neutrality. This study proposes a straightforward method for lithium extraction utilizing cellulose nanofiber (CNF) via a vacuum filtration process. This approach yields a porous CNF film, showcasing its potential utility as a lithium extractor and indicator. Given its abundance and eco-friendly characteristics, cellulose nanofiber (CNF) emerges as a material offering both economic and environmental advantages over traditional lithium extraction techniques. Hence, this research not only contributes to lithium recovery but also presents a sustainable solution to meet the growing demand for lithium in energy storage technologies.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.24 no.10
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• pp.1495-1500
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• 2003

Equilibria and applications of a synergistic extraction were studied for the determination of a trace lithium by using thenoyltrifluoroacetone (TTA) and trioctylphosphine oxide (TOPO) as ligands. Several equations were derived for the extraction of lithium into m-xylene as a phase of Li-TTA·mTOPO adduct. Distribution coefficients and extraction constant were determined together with a stability constant of the adduct. The adduct was quantitatively extracted from the basic solution of higher than pH 9 by shaking for 30 minutes. m-Xylene was selected as an optimum solvent by comparing the extraction efficiency among several kinds of organic solvents. The stability constant (${\Beta}_2$) for Li-TTA/2TOPO was 150 times higher than Li-TTA/TOPO. The distribution coefficient of Li-TTA/2TOPO into m-xylene was 9.12 and the logarithmic extraction constant (log $K_{ex}$) was 6.76. Trace lithium of sub-ppm level in seawater samples could be determined under modified conditions and a detection limit equivalent to 3 times standard deviation for background absorption was 0.42 ng/mL.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.21-32
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• 2023

Because the application of lithium has gradually increased for the production of lithium ion batteries (LIBs), more research studies about recycling using solvent extraction (SX) should focus on Li⁺ recovery from the waste solution obtained after the removal of the valuable metals nickel, cobalt and manganese (NCM). The raffinate obtained after the removal of NCM metal contains lithium ions and other impurities such as Na ions. In this study, we optimized a selective SX system using di-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) as the extractant and tri-n-butyl phosphate (TBP) as a modifier in kerosene for the recovery of lithium from a waste solution containing lithium and a high concentration of sodium (Li⁺ = 0.5 ~ 1 wt%, Na⁺ = 3 ~6.5 wt%). The extraction of lithium was tested in different solvent compositions and the most effective extraction occurred in the solution composed of 20% D2EHPA + 20% TBP + and 60% kerosene. In this SX system with added NaOH for saponification, more than 95% lithium was selectively extracted in four extraction steps using an organic to aqueous ratio of 5:1 and an equilibrium pH of 4 ~ 4.5. Additionally, most of the Na⁺ (92% by weight) remained in the raffinate. The extracted lithium is stripped using 8 wt% HCl to yield pure lithium chloride with negligible Na content. The lithium chloride is subsequently treated with high purity ammonium bicarbonate to afford lithium carbonate powder. Finally the lithium carbonate is washed with an adequate amount of water to remove trace amounts of sodium resulting in highly pure lithium carbonate powder (purity > 99.2%).

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.22-28
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• 2023

The global demand for raw lithium materials is rapidly increasing, accompanied by the demand for lithiumion batteries for next-generation mobility. The batch-type method, which selectively separates and concentrates lithium from seawater rich in reserves, could be an alternative to mining, which is limited owing to low extraction rates. Therefore, research on selectively separating and concentrating lithium using an electrodialysis technique, which is reported to have a recovery rate 100 times faster than the conventional methods, is actively being conducted. In this study, a lithium ion selective membrane is prepared using lithium lanthanum titanate, an oxide-based solid electrolyte material, to extract lithium from seawater, and a large-area membrane manufacturing process is conducted to extract a large amount of lithium per unit time. Through the developed manufacturing process, a large-area membrane with a diameter of approximately 20 mm and relative density of 96% or more is manufactured. The lithium extraction behavior from seawater is predicted by measuring the ionic conductivity of the membrane through electrochemical analysis.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.53-57
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• 2013

For the purpose of development of the extraction process of lithium ion from concentrated water eliminated from desalination process, an experimental research on the solvent extraction of lithium ion from aqueous solutions was performed. The effects of operating parameters, such as concentration of extractant, ratio of extracting solution/aqueous solution, pH of aqueous solution, were examined. The effect of sodium chloride, the major component of sea water, was also examined. Lithium ion in aqueous solutions of pH=10.2~10.6 adjusted by ammonia solution was most effectively extracted by extracting solution composed of 0.02 M TTA and 0.04 M TOPO in kerosine. The addition of sodium chloride in lithium aqueous solution significantly interfered the extraction of lithium ion.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.137-144
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• 2015

The present paper deals with the extractive separation and selective recovery of nickel and lithium from the sulfate leachate of cathode scrap generated during the manufacture of LIBs. The conditions for extraction, scrubbing and stripping of nickel from lithium were optimized with an aqueous feed containing $2.54kg{\cdot}m^{-3}$ Ni and $4.82kg{\cdot}m^{-3}$ Li using PC-88A. Over 99.6% nickel was extracted with $0.15kmol{\cdot}m^{-3}$ PC-88A in two counter-current stages at O/A=1 and pH=6.5. Effective scrubbing Li from loaded organic was systematically studied with a dilute $Na_2CO_3$ solution ($0.10kmol{\cdot}m^{-3}$). The McCabe-Thiele diagram suggests two counter-current scrubbing stages are required at O/A=2/3 to yield lithium-scrubbing efficiency of 99.6%. The proposed process showed advantages of simplicity, and high purity (99.9%) nickel sulfate recovery along with lithium to ensure the complete recycling of the waste from LIBs manufacturing process.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.3-15
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• 2022

Lithium is the lightest metal and the first metal in the periodic table. Lithium is used in a variety of applications, including the production of organolithium compounds, as an alloying addition to aluminum and magnesium, and as the anode in rechargeable lithium ion batteries especially for electronic devices and electric vehicles. Therefore, lithium is indispensable metal in our daily lives. The use of lithium continues to rise and has increased from about 14,000 tonnes per year worldwide in the 2000 to about 82,200 tonnes in the 2000. However, lithium is a representative rare metal and ranks 32nd among the abundant elements in the earth's crust. This study reviews the current status of the lithium extraction processes as well as the trend in production amount and use. Lithium is extracted by a various methods depending on the type of resources. These extraction methods are essential for the development of new recycling processes that can extract lithium from secondary lithium resources.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.21-27
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• 2014

A study on the solvent extraction for the recovery of Li from lithium-containing waste solution was investigated using $D_2EHPA$ as an extractant. The experimental parameters, such as the pH of the aqueous solution, concentration of extractant and phase ratio were observed. Experimental results showed that the extraction percentage of Li was increased with increasing the equilibrium pH. More than 50% of Li was extracted in eq. pH 6.0 by 20% $D_2EHPA$. From the analysis of McCabe-Thiele diagram, 95% of Li was extracted by four extraction stage at phase ratio(O/A) of 3.0. Stripping of Li from the loaded organic phases can be accomplished by sulfuric acid as a stripping reagent and 90 ~ 120 g/L of $H_2SO_4$ was effective for the stripping of Li. Finially, Li was concentrated about 11.85 g/L by continuous stripping process, and then lithium carbonate was prepared by precipitation method.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.12 no.11
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• pp.860-864
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• 2002

$Li^{+}$ extraction reactions with ion-exchange type lithium manganese oxide in an aqueous phase were examined using chemical and x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. In the process of extraction reaction, the lithium manganese oxide showed a topotactic extraction of $Li^{+ }$ in the aqueous phase mainly through an ion-exchange mechanism, and the $Li^{+}$ extracted samples indicated a high selectivity and a large capacity for $Li^{+}$ . The electronic structures and chemical bonding properties were also studied using a discrete variational (DV)-X$\alpha$ molecular orbital method with cluster model of (Li$Mn_{12}$ $O_{40}$ )$^{27-}$ for tetrahedral sites and ($Li_{7}$ Mn $O_{38}$ )$^{3}$ for octahedral site in $Li_{1.33}$ $Mn_{1.67}$ / $O_{4}$ respectively. Li in the manganese oxides is highly ionized in both sites, but the net charge of Li was greater for tetrahedral sites than octahedral. These calculations suggest that the tetrahedral sites have higher $Li^{+}$ $H^{+}$ exchangeability than the octahedral sites, and are preferable for the selective adsorption for L $i^{+}$ ions.s.

• Carbon letters
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• v.1 no.3_4
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• pp.129-132
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• 2001

Carbonaceous thin films were prepared from acetylene and argon gases by plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition (Plasma CVD) at 873 K. The carbonaceous thin films were characterized by mainly Raman spectroscopy, and their electrochemical properties were studied by cyclic voltammetry and charge-discharge measurements in propylene carbonate (PC) solution. Raman spectra showed that crystallinity of carbonaceous thin films is correlated by the applied RF power. The difference of the applied RF power also affected on the results of cyclic voltammetry and charge-discharge measurements. In PC solution, intercalation and de-intercalation of lithium ion can occur as well as in the mixed solution of EC and DEC.