Theme: | Land / Water (T10) |
Status: | Active |
Start Date: | 2020-04-01 |
End Date: | 2023-09-30 |
Website: | |
Principal Investigator |
Alessi, Daniel Scott |
Project Overview
Lithium (Li) has captured attention due to growing demand for Li-ion batteries in renewable energy technologies. Ore bodies and brines are the primary sources of Li; the latter makes up >60% of the world’s Li resources. During Li extraction from brine, undesirable ions are removed by sequential evaporation/precipitation in large surface ponds, processes which are environmentally intrusive, inefficient and slow. Since 2017, our group has collaborated with industry partners to develop a patent-pending sorbent technology that can extract more than 99% of Li from sub-100 ppm petroleum brines found in Alberta. This research project aims to develop a more fundamental understanding of sorbent chemistry, which is necessary in order to tune its chemistry for optimal performance and commercialization.
Outputs
Title |
Category |
Date |
Authors |
Cost analysis of wastewater production from conventional and unconventional oil and gas wells University of Alberta | Publication | 2022-04-25 | Ashkan Zolfaghari, Gehman, J., Alessi, D. |
Hydrometallurgical processes for heavy metals recovery from industrial sludges University of Alberta | Publication | 2020-12-01 | Viraj Gunarathne, Anushka Upamali Rajapaksha, Meththika Vithanage, Alessi, D., Rangabhashiyam Selvasembian, Mu. Naushad, Siming You, Patryk Oleszczuk, Yong Sik Ok |
Lithium Recovery from Hydraulic Fracturing Flowback and Produced Water using a Selective Ion Exchange Sorbent University of Alberta | Publication | 2021-06-01 | Adam Seip, Salman Safari, David M Pickup, Alan V Chadwick, Silvia Ramos, Carmen A Velasco, José M Cerrato, Alessi, D. |
Metal oxide sorbents for the sustainable recovery of lithium from unconventional resources University of Alberta | Publication | 2020-06-01 | Salman Safari, Bernd G Lottermoser, Alessi, D. |