Performance Evaluation of Benchmark Plant for Selective Lithium Recovery from Seawater

Abstract

A protonated spinel MnO2 adsorbent was developed from spinel Li1 .5Mn2O4 for selective recovery of lithium from seawater. The granulation method of protonated spinel MnO2 adsorbent, which has efficient selectivity for lithium ion, has been developed, employing chitin-based binder. The granules of ca. 2-3 mm with high resistance to the column operation for the seawater (pH = 8.1) can be achieved. The benchmark plant was built up and lithium recovery was scrutinized with seawater intake of 0.2 m3/h. About 815 m3 of seawater passed through the adsorption column and 38% lithium recovery was achieved. The following recovery steps are expected by performing using routine techniques, in order to enhance the lithium recovery efficiency.