Solar-enhanced lithium extraction with self-sustaining water recycling from salt-lake brines

Abstract

Lithium is an emerging strategic resource for modern energy transformation toward electrification and decarbonization. However, current mainstream direct lithium extraction technology via adsorption suffers from sluggish kinetics and intensive water usage, especially in arid/semiarid and cold salt-lake regions (natural land brines). Herein, an efficient proof-of-concept integrated solar microevaporator system is developed to realize synergetic solar-enhanced lithium recovery and water footprint management from hypersaline salt-lake brines. The 98% solar energy harvesting efficiency of the solar microevaporator system, elevating its local temperature, greatly promotes the endothermic Li+ extraction process and solar steam generation. Benefiting from the photothermal effect, enhanced water flux, and enriched local Li+ supply in nanoconfined space, a double-enhanced Li+ recovery capacity was delivered (increase from 12.4 to 28.7 mg g-1) under one sun, and adsorption kinetics rate (saturated within 6 h) also reached twice of that at 280 K (salt-lake temperature). Additionally, the self-assembly rotation feature endows the microevaporator system with distinct self-cleaning desalination ability, achieving near 100% water recovery from hypersaline brines for further self-sufficient Li+ elution. Outdoor comprehensive solar-powered experiment verified the feasibility of basically stable lithium recovery ability (>8 mg g-1) directly from natural hypersaline salt-lake brines with self-sustaining water recycling for Li+ elution (440 m3 water recovery per ton Li2CO3). This work offers an integrated solution for sustainable lithium recovery with near zero water/carbon consumption toward carbon neutrality.