Lithium isotope separation by electromigration

Lithium Isotope Electromigration Separation in an Ionic Liquid–Crown Ether System: Understanding the Role of Driving Forces

“…It was surprising that the Li + migration ratio of the anode solution (A2) to the organic solution (O4) in E10 was increased from 1.59% or 1.78% (A2 to O4 in E9) to 1.91%. According to previous work, at low voltages (1.5 V), the structure of crown ether-Li + chelate in the organic solution was stable, with the chelation being stronger than the synergy of electromigration and diffusion, and the emigrated Li + enriched 7 Li. At high voltages (20 V), the structure stability of crown ether-Li + chelate in the organic solution was weakened and Li + was easier to dissociate from chelate.…”

“…Our team brought to light the lithium isotope separation effect by Li + electromigration from a lithium-loaded ionic liquid–crown ether organic solution to aqueous solution. The results indicated that immigrant Li + in aqueous solution enriched 7 Li at 1.5 V and enriched 6 Li at 20 V. The isotopic separation effect was attributed to the dissociating difference of the lithium isotopic ions–crown ether complex under different voltages . Electromigration with an ionic liquid can achieve a high separation coefficient with a simple operation relative to extraction, but the separation efficient is still unable to meet the requirements of industrial applications.…”

“…The results indicated that immigrant Li + in aqueous solution enriched 7 Li at 1.5 V and enriched 6 Li at 20 V. The isotopic separation effect was attributed to the dissociating difference of the lithium isotopic ions−crown ether complex under different voltages. 24 Electromigration with an ionic liquid can achieve a high separation coefficient with a simple operation relative to extraction, but the separation efficient is still unable to meet the requirements of industrial applications. The extraction method with the ionic liquid−crown ether system and the electromigration method with an ionic liquid for lithium isotope separation have their own advantages and disadvantages.…”

A Comprehensive Review of Selected Major Categories of Lithium Isotope Separation Techniques

“…The principle is that 6 Li ionic mobility is higher than 7 Li ions, and hence 6 Li is enriched on the cell's cathode side. The lithium isotope isolation by electromigration from the lithium-loaded organic phase to the aqueous solution was examined by Wang et al [88] and it was observed that 7 Li was enriched at 1.5 V in an aqueous solution and 6 Li was enriched in an aqueous solution at 20 V. Martoyan et al [89] proposed a novel electromembrane method, which is a modified version of the amalgam method of Li isotope enrichment, as shown in Figure 12b. Three variables concurrently regulate the enrichment of lithium isotopes: the electromigration through ion-exchange membrane is high; the binding of isotopes in amalgam is high; and finally, eddy currents of the 7 Li isotopes are most likely to be extracted from the upper-surface side of the mercury cathode.…”

The extraction method for the separation of lithium isotopes using B12C4/B15C5/B18C6-ionic liquid systems

“…As the sole method industrialized for producing lithium isotopes, the lithium amalgam method involves serious environmental risks. [1][2][3][4] Therefore, many green alternatives have been developed, such as the extraction method, [5][6][7] electromigration method, [8][9][10] Klemm's method, [11][12][13] laser method, [14][15][16] etc.…”