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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Background Geothermal energy is an important source of renewable energy in California. In 2018, geothermal energy in the state produced 11,528 gigawatt-hours of electricity, contributing almost 6 percent of the state's total system power. Expanding geothermal energy production in California will help the state achieve its goals of 60 percent renewable electricity and a 40 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels by 2030. Developing new low-cost processes for the extraction of critical metals from geothermal fluids will greatly benefit the economics of geothermal power production by creating a value stream from the sale of these metals. Hot geothermal fluids can reach temperatures higher than 482°F (250°C) to 572°F (300°C) and, while in contact with underground rock formations, these fluids can dissolve minerals and metals depending on mineral deposits found in specific geographical areas. After using the heat from the geothermal fluids to produce geothermal power and before reinjecting the fluid, it is possible to extract metals present in the geothermal fluid. High-temperature geothermal fluids like those found in the Salton Sea Known Geothermal Resource Area are rich in a variety of critical metals, such as lithium, manganese, zinc, and others. Extraction of lithium from brines is of considerable commercial interest. Production of lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide has increased rapidly over the past few years because of the high demand for lithium batteries used in portable devices, electric vehicles, and electric grid storage. The current price of lithium carbonate is about $12,000 per ton, and the Salton Sea Known Geothermal Resource Area is capable of producing an estimated 600,000 tons per year of lithium carbonate with a value of $7.2 billion. Project Purpose Extracting lithium from brines found below the surface of dried lakebeds (known as salar) and from mineral deposits has been the dominant method of producing lithium. High grade lithium compounds are processed mostly by solar evaporation of salar brines in Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia. Lithium is present in very high concentrations in these brines (typically more than 500 milligrams of lithium per liter of brine), and processing costs are low. However, lithium separation from salar brines has several disadvantages. Separation is slow (taking up to 24 months), weather-dependent, and has an extraction efficiency of only about 50 percent. After lithium is concentrated by solar evaporation, it still requires multiple purification steps. Because geothermal brines often have high concentrations of lithium, they are an attractive source. There is considerable interest in new low-cost technologies for rapid and efficient extraction of lithium from a variety of brines to meet market demand. The goal of this project was to demonstrate a new low-cost process for the rapid and selective extraction of lithium from geothermal brines using two technologies: 1. A new selective high capacity sorbent (a substance that takes up and holds another substance by either absorption or adsorption) to capture lithium from the brine. 2. A new sorbent regeneration process that releases the lithium from the solid phase. 1PDF Image | Selective Recovery of Lithium from Geothermal Brines
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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 (Standard Web Page)