PDF Publication Title:
Text from PDF Page: 006
9 EP 2 591 130 B1 10 to eliminate calcium, the surface charge of magnesium hydroxide would be converted to negative,because the pH of the brine deviates from the range of 8.5 and 10.5. In this case, the boron absorbed inthe magnesium hy- droxide will be desorbed, and instead, positive lithium ions will be absorbed, causing both the loss of lithium and a decrease in the boron extraction yield. [0066] The calcium hydroxide and the calcium carbon- ate, having very lowsolubility, are easily precipitated when the pH is 12 or higher. Thus, it is preferable to maintain the pH of the filtrate to be 12 or higher. [0067] In one embodiment of the present invention, for example, a mixture of an alkali and carbonate can be added. [0068] The alkali is selected from the group consisting of NaOH, KOH, Ca(OH)2, NH4OH, R4NOH·5H20 and a mixture thereof, wherein R is independently a C1-C10 alkyl group, such as, miethyl, ethyl, propyl or butyl. [0069] Since OH-supplied from the addition of the alkali (e.g., NaOH) is used up in the production of calcium hy- droxide, a significant amount of alkali (e.g., NaOH) is added in order to maintain the pH level of the lithium bearing solution to be at least 12. When the calcium car- bonate is added alone or in combination with the alkali (e.g., NaOH), the pH could be economically maintained to be at least 12 even if the amount of alkali could be relatively reduced. [0070] The carbonate is selected from the group hav- ing high solubility consisting of Na2CO3 , K2CO3, and a mixture thereof, and sodium and potassium included in the carbonate are dissolved in the filtrate. The precipitat- ed calcium hydroxide or calcium carbonate is separated from the remaining filtrate, and subsequently calcium is extracted. [Step of Precipitating Lithium Phosphate] [0071] A phosphate supplying material may be added to the remaining filtrate from which the impurities are re- moved to precipitate lithium phosphate from lithium con- tained in the brine. [0072] The step of precipitating lithium phosphate from the lithium bearing brine may be performed at room tem- perature or above, or at 40°Cor above. More specifically, the step may be performed at 50°Cor above, 60°Cor above, 70°Cor above, 80°Cor above, or 90°Cor above. [0073] The phosphorous supplying material may be selected from the group consisting of phosphorous, phosphoric acid, phosphate, and a mixture thereof. [0074] In order for the lithium phosphate to be precip- itated in a solid state without being re-dissolved, the con- centration (i.e., the dissolved concentration in the lithium bearing solution) should be 0.39g/L or greater. [0075] The phosphate may be, for example, but is not limited thereto, potassium phosphate, sodium phos- phate, and ammonium phosphate. Specifically, the am- monium may be (NR4)3PO4, wherein R is independently a hydrogen, a heavy hydrogen, a substituted or unsub- stituted C1-C10 alkyl group, but not limited thereto. [0076] More specifically, the phosphate may be, for ex- ample, but is not limited thereto, mono-potassium phos- phate, di-potassium phosphate, tri-potassium phos- phate, monosodium phosphate, di-sodium phosphate, tri-sodium phosphate, aluminum phosphate, zinc phos- phate, poly-ammonium phosphate, sodium-hexa-meta- phosphate, mono-calcium, phosphate, di-calcium phos- phate, and tri-calcium-phosphate. [0077] The phosphorous supplying material may be water-soluble. In the case the phosphorous supplying material is water-soluble, the reaction with lithium con- tained in the lithium bearing solution may easily occur. [0078] Further, after the phosphorous supplying mate- rial is added, the filtrate is calcinatedfor 10 to 15 minutes at room temperature, or at a temperature range of 40-200°C, 50-200°C, 60-200°C, 70-200°C, 80-200°C, or 90-200°C. [0079] Although it is advantageous to extend the cal- cining time and raise the temperature for the purpose of producing lithium phosphate, if the calcining time ex- ceeds 15 minutes or if the calcining temperature exceeds 200°C the production yield of lithium phosphate may be saturated. [Step of Extracting Lithium Phosphate] [0080] After precipitating lithium phosphate from lithi- um dissolved in the brine, the step of extracting the pre- cipitated lithium phosphate filtered from the filtrate may be performed. [0081] Upon such filtration, the extracted lithium phos- phate may be washed to obtain high purity lithium phos- phate powder. [0082] The present invention is further illustrated by the following examples, although the following examples relate to preferred embodiments and are not to be con- strued as limiting on the scope of the invention. [Example 1] [0083] NaOH was added to brine containing magnesi- um ions 20,000ppm, boron ions 900ppm, calcium ions350ppm, and lithium ions 900ppm to precipitate mag- nesium hydroxide. While adjusting the pH of the brine, the surface charge of the precipitated magnesium hy- droxide was measured. The results are shown in FIG. 1. [0084] As shown in FIG. 1, the surface charge of the magnesium hydroxide was maintained with a positive charge when the pH range of the NaOH added brine was between 8.5 and 10.5. Accordingly, the boron ions with a negative charge were easily absorbed on the magne- sium hyrdroxide, and the positively charged lithium ions were prevented from being absorbed. This minimized the loss of lithium, and efficiently extracted both magnesium and boron from the brine at the same time. 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 6PDF Image | Patent Lithium European Patent Spec
PDF Search Title:
Patent Lithium European Patent SpecOriginal File Name Searched:
EP2591130B1.pdfDIY PDF Search: Google It | Yahoo | Bing
Product and Development Focus for Infinity Turbine
ORC Waste Heat Turbine and ORC System Build Plans: All turbine plans are $10,000 each. This allows you to build a system and then consider licensing for production after you have completed and tested a unit.Redox Flow Battery Technology: With the advent of the new USA tax credits for producing and selling batteries ($35/kW) we are focussing on a simple flow battery using shipping containers as the modular electrolyte storage units with tax credits up to $140,000 per system. Our main focus is on the salt battery. This battery can be used for both thermal and electrical storage applications. We call it the Cogeneration Battery or Cogen Battery. One project is converting salt (brine) based water conditioners to simultaneously produce power. In addition, there are many opportunities to extract Lithium from brine (salt lakes, groundwater, and producer water).Salt water or brine are huge sources for lithium. Most of the worlds lithium is acquired from a brine source. It's even in seawater in a low concentration. Brine is also a byproduct of huge powerplants, which can now use that as an electrolyte and a huge flow battery (which allows storage at the source).We welcome any business and equipment inquiries, as well as licensing our turbines for manufacturing.| CONTACT TEL: 608-238-6001 Email: greg@infinityturbine.com | RSS | AMP |