锂精炼的闭环之路

An aqueous process for lithium hardrock refining is economically and environmentally attractive Gang San Lee and Karthish Manthiram Lithium is an indispensable resource for the global transition toward sustainable energy because of its use in high–energy density batteries. Ironically, the lithium that underlies this movement is currently produced by unsustainable processes. Extracting lithium from brine is slow and geologically constrained and demands enormous water resources. By contrast, hardrock mining is fast and based on an abundant resource. However, refining lithium from hardrock requires energy- and carbon-intensive processes. On page 980 of this issue, Mowbray et al. (1) report a sustainable way to convert lithium hardrock into three valuable compounds—battery-grade lithium carbonate, cementitious silica, and smelter-grade alumina—at mild temperatures (<100°C). …