Lilac Solutions: Lithium Empire from Great Salt Lake
- The Great Salt Lake in Utah might not seem like a prime location for lithium mining, but a new technology developed by Lilac is demonstrating the potential to...
- Customary lithium extraction methods often rely on high concentrations of lithium in brine, like those found in South America's "Lithium Triangle" (Argentina, Bolivia, and chile).
- "It's 70 parts per million," explains Raef Sully, Lilac's Australia-born chief executive.
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Lilac’s Lithium Extraction Tech shows Promise in Utah’s Grate Salt Lake
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Published October 7, 2024, 10:32:40 AM MDT | Updated as needed.
The Challenge of Lithium extraction
The Great Salt Lake in Utah might not seem like a prime location for lithium mining, but a new technology developed by Lilac is demonstrating the potential to extract the valuable metal from even low-concentration brines.This is significant as global demand for lithium, crucial for electric vehicle batteries and energy storage, continues to surge.
Customary lithium extraction methods often rely on high concentrations of lithium in brine, like those found in South America’s “Lithium Triangle” (Argentina, Bolivia, and chile). The salton sea in California boasts lithium concentrations of just under 200 parts per million (ppm), while argentina’s resources can exceed 700 ppm. In contrast,the Great Salt Lake’s brine contains only about 70 ppm.
”It’s 70 parts per million,” explains Raef Sully, Lilac’s Australia-born chief executive. “So if you had a football stadium with 45,000 seats, this would be three people.” This low concentration presents a significant hurdle for conventional extraction techniques.
Lilac’s Technology: A Potential Game Changer
Lilac’s approach centers around a direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology that uses specialized materials to selectively capture lithium ions from brine. Unlike traditional evaporation pond methods, which are slow, water-intensive, and environmentally impactful, DLE aims for faster, more efficient, and sustainable extraction.
According to McBride, Lilac’s technology is designed to be versatile. “Decades of lithium demand, they want to position their technology as something that can tap a bunch of markets,” McBride says. “To have a technology that can potentially economically recover different types of resources in different types of environments is an enticing proposition.”
Demonstration Results: high Recovery and Purity
recent demonstration testing at the Great Salt Lake yielded promising results. Lilac’s equipment reportedly recovered 87% of the available lithium, on average, with a purity rate of 99.97%. This success is especially noteworthy given the low lithium concentration and the presence of numerous impurities in the brine.
The company has completed its initial demonstration phase and was packing up equipment during a recent visit. These results suggest that Lilac’s technology could unlock lithium resources previously considered uneconomical to extract.