Lithium Extraction Method from Geothermal Brine to Find Suitable Method for Geothermal Fields in Indonesia: A Review

Abstract

Lithium has become an essential metal for modern industries. Specifically, the growth of battery-based electric vehicles will demand much more lithium shortly. Many studies have been conducted to find the sources of lithium; one of them is geothermal brine. Indonesia has enormous geothermal resources; some fields have lithium content that can potentially be extracted. Various methods in the extraction process of lithium from the geothermal brine have been developed, both on laboratory and pilot projects. Conventionally, solar evaporation has been used to concentrate lithium from brine, but it takes a long time and depends on the weather. Thus, a more rapid and selective process is desired to fulfill the market demand and avoid weather constraints. This paper reviews the lithium extraction from the geothermal brine by direct extraction methods using solvent extraction, adsorption and ion exchange, membrane, and electrodialysis. The study is based on a desktop study and aims to summarize the knowledge, method, technology, and techniques of lithium extraction from geothermal brine that has already been used and to find out which extraction method is suitable for the Indonesian geothermal field. Multiple-stages solvent extraction from geothermal brine well X in Dieng performed by the authors demonstrated a lithium extraction efficiency of 94% and indicated an opportunity to be further investigated to extract lithium from the Dieng geothermal brine.