Toxic Lake will make America a leading producer of lithium

In the state of California in the United States, several companies have begun to develop infrastructure to help extract lithium, an important raw material for making batteries for electric cars, from underground. Lithium is a by-product of many geothermal power plants operating in the region.

A New Lithium Mining Center The 970-square-kilometer area may form around the Saltan Sea, which is heavily polluted with agricultural pesticide residues and metals such as molybdenum, cadmium, selenium and lithium.

China

The United States wants to become a world leader in lithium mining. At the moment, however, the country has to buy all its goods from China and a limited number of other countries. “However, if an efficient method is found to extract lithium from wastes from geothermal plants in California, that situation may change in a few years,” observers note.

There are several power plants in California that generate electricity from geothermal energy. This technology represents 6 percent of the total electricity generation in the US state.

However, the product is still more expensive than other renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, but that could change if the process treats waste water.

After all, wastewater from power plants is a salt water mixture of dissolved minerals and metals. This includes lithium. Technologies that can isolate lithium from those wastes can add significant value to the U.S. economy.

Strong question

Studies by the U.S. Department of Energy indicate that the Salton Sea, one of California’s two major geothermal power plants, produces about 600,000 tons of lithium per year. That stock is currently greater than the amount currently consumed by the United States.

The move could generate $ 7.2 billion in annual revenue. Also, expect strong growth in operation over the long term. By the end of this decade, global demand for lithium is expected to increase at least tenfold.

The move could provide significant employment in an area that is struggling with high unemployment. Industrial activities can reduce the toxicity of the Salton Sea by purifying saltwater, thus having a positive ecological impact on the environment.

The Salten Sea has a salinity of 6.8 percent. In the Pacific, it is recorded at 3.5 percent. The area around the lake is now referred to by many as the ‘Lithium Valley’.

In addition, lithium mines can be considered in many places in California, such as Arizona and Nevada.

Interruptions

However, experts point out several drawbacks. Will Stringfellow, head of lithium research at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, explains, “Lithium separation is a very complex process.

“In addition, many logistics challenges need to be addressed and extraction must be done in a sustainable way without burden to the environment.

In some countries, lithium is traditionally cut, but in California the brine must be sucked to the surface and then pumped to storage tanks.

There, the heat from the sun evaporates the water, leaving only lithium and many other raw materials. However, this process can take up to two years. In addition, it can recover up to 50 percent of total lithium reserves.

The U.S. government has set aside $ 30 million for research leading to efficient mining to help find a solution.

The California Energy Commission has licensed three companies to build pilot plants in the Salton Sea. Work on setting up the necessary infrastructure has already begun.

(jvdh)