Harnessing dimethyl ether with ultra-low-grade heat for scaling-resistant brine concentration and fractional crystallization

Foo, Zi Hao; Deshmukh, Akshay; Wilson, Aaron D.; Lienhard, John H.

doi:10.1016/j.cej.2024.151159

Chemical Engineering Journal

2024

DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2024.151159

|View full text |Cite

Harnessing dimethyl ether with ultra-low-grade heat for scaling-resistant brine concentration and fractional crystallization

Zi Hao Foo,

Akshay Deshmukh,

Aaron D. Wilson

et al.

Help me understand this report

Search citation statements

Order By: Relevance

Paper Sections

Select...

Citation Types

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Year Published

2024

Publication Types

Select...

Article2

Relationship

Self Cite0

Independent2

Authors

Journals

Cited by 2 publications

References 90 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

Positively‐Coated Nanofiltration Membranes for Lithium Recovery from Battery Leachates and Salt‐Lakes: Ion Transport Fundamentals and Module Performance

Foo,

Liu,

Kanias

et al. 2024

Adv Funct Materials

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Membranes facilitate scalable and continuous lithium concentration from hypersaline salt lakes and battery leachates. Conventional nanofiltration (NF) membranes, however, exhibit poor monovalent selectivity in high‐salinity environments due to weakened exclusion mechanisms. This study examines polyamide NF membranes coated with polyelectrolytes enriched with ammonium groups to maintain high monovalent cation selectivity in hypersaline conditions. Over 8000 ion rejection measurements are recorded using salt lake brines and battery leachates. The experiments exemplify the coated membrane's ability to reduce magnesium concentrations to 0.14% from salt lakes and elevate lithium purity to 98% from battery leachates, in a single filtration stage. The membrane's selectivity is retained after 12 weeks in acidic conditions. Molecular dynamics analyses reveal that the ammonium groups create an electrostatic barrier at low pH, selectively hindering multivalent cation transport. This is corroborated by the Coulombic attraction between cations and carboxylate groups, along with a repulsive barrier from ammonium groups. Despite a 14.7% increase in specific energy, a two‐stage NF system using the coated membranes for lithium recovery significantly reduces permeate magnesium composition to 0.031% from Chilean salt lake brines. For NMC leachates, the coated membranes achieve permeate lithium purity exceeding 99.5%, yielding enhanced permeate quality with minor increases in energy demands.

show abstract

Positively‐Coated Nanofiltration Membranes for Lithium Recovery from Battery Leachates and Salt‐Lakes: Ion Transport Fundamentals and Module Performance

Foo,

Liu,

Kanias

et al. 2024

Adv Funct Materials

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Toward a Circular Lithium Economy with Electrodialysis: Upcycling Spent Battery Leachates with Selective and Bipolar Ion-Exchange Membranes

Foo,

Lee,

Wegmueller

et al. 2024

Environ. Sci. Technol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Recycling spent lithium-ion batteries offers a sustainable solution to reduce ecological degradation from mining and mitigate raw material shortages and price volatility. This study investigates using electrodialysis with selective and bipolar ionexchange membranes to establish a circular economy for lithiumion batteries. An experimental data set of over 1700 ion concentration measurements across five current densities, two solution compositions, and three pH levels supports the technoeconomic analysis. Selective electrodialysis (SED) isolates lithium ions from battery leachates, yielding a 99% Li-pure retentate with 68.8% lithium retention, achieving relative ionic fluxes up to 2.41 for Li + over transition metal cations and a selectivity of 5.64 over monovalent cations. Bipolar membrane electrodialysis (BMED) converts LiCl into high-purity LiOH and HCl, essential for battery remanufacturing and reducing acid consumption via acid recycling. High current densities reduce ion leakage, achieving lithium leakage as low as 0.03%, though hydronium and hydroxide leakage in BMED remains high at 11−20%. Our analysis projects LiOH production costs between USD 1.1 and 3.6 per kilogram, significantly lower than current prices. Optimal SED and BMED conditions are identified, emphasizing the need to control proton transport in BMED and improve cobalt−lithium separation in SED to enhance cost efficiency.

show abstract

scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.

Contact Info

customersupport@researchsolutions.com

10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614

Henderson, NV 89052, USA

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Blog Terms and Conditions API Terms Privacy Policy Contact Cookie Preferences Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

Made with 💙 for researchers

Part of the Research Solutions Family.

Harnessing dimethyl ether with ultra-low-grade heat for scaling-resistant brine concentration and fractional crystallization

Cited by 2 publications

References 90 publications

Positively‐Coated Nanofiltration Membranes for Lithium Recovery from Battery Leachates and Salt‐Lakes: Ion Transport Fundamentals and Module Performance

Positively‐Coated Nanofiltration Membranes for Lithium Recovery from Battery Leachates and Salt‐Lakes: Ion Transport Fundamentals and Module Performance

Toward a Circular Lithium Economy with Electrodialysis: Upcycling Spent Battery Leachates with Selective and Bipolar Ion-Exchange Membranes

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About