Integrated system for lithium extraction and conversion

An integrated process for generating a lithium salt from a liquid resource, comprising:

• (a) providing an ion exchange unit, wherein said ion exchange unit comprises ion exchange particles comprising hydrogen ions;
• (b) contacting said ion exchange particles in said ion exchange unit with said liquid resource, wherein hydrogen ions from said ion exchange particles are exchanged with lithium ions from said liquid resource to produce lithium-enriched ion exchange particles in said ion exchange unit;
• (c) treating said lithium-enriched ion exchange particles with an acid solution, wherein lithium ions from said lithium-enriched ion exchange particles are exchanged with hydrogen ions from said acid solution to produce a lithium eluate;
• (d) optionally providing a first crystallizer to treat said lithium eluate of step (c) with a precipitant to precipitate said lithium salt and create a residual eluate;
• (e) providing an electrolysis system in fluid communication with said ion exchange unit or in fluid communication with said first crystallizer, wherein said electrolysis system comprises (A) one or more electrochemically reducing electrodes, (B) one or more electrochemically oxidizing electrodes, and (C) one or more ion-conducting membranes;
• (f) (i) passing said lithium eluate from step (c) to said electrolysis system, or
• (ii) passing said residual eluate from step (d) to said electrolysis system;
• (g) (i) subjecting said lithium eluate from step (c) in said electrolysis system of step (e) to an electric current, wherein said electric current causes electrolysis of said lithium eluate from step (c) to produce an acidified solution and a lithium salt solution, or
• (ii) subjecting said residual eluate from step (d) to said electrolysis system of step (e) to an electric current, wherein said electric current causes electrolysis of said residual eluate to produce an acidified solution and a basified solution;
• and
• (h) optionally providing a second crystallizer to crystallize said lithium salt solution of step (g)(i) to form said lithium salt;
• wherein said ion exchange particles comprise coated ion exchange particles and said coated ion exchange particles comprise an ion exchange material and a coating material comprising a chloro-polymer, a fluoro-polymer, a chloro-fluoro-polymer, a hydrophilic polymer, a hydrophobic polymer, co-polymers thereof, mixtures thereof, or combinations thereof.