Membrane-based technologies for lithium extraction

The global demand for lithium resources has dramatically increased due to the excessive use of lithium in the production of rechargeable batteries used in electric cars, mobile phones, laptops, and digital cameras. The need for lithium has also increased sharply due to other industrial applications, such as pacemakers and sustainable development. Accordingly, the market necessitates extracting lithium from lithium resources; seawater, salty lakes, geothermal water, and mineral sources such as lithium-ion batteries, recycled waste, and mineral ores. Brine available in salty lakes is considered the leading aqueous lithium reserve due to its low extraction cost and abundant reserve. Lithium recovery using a membrane-based extraction process is an efficient technology. This chapter presents the challenges, advantages, and drawbacks of membrane-based lithium separation. This chapter highlights the membrane processes such as membrane distillation, nanofiltration, selective dialysis, cost, separation efficiency, construction material, and long-term stability.