Recovery of lithium from silicate minerals
AssigneeIcsip Pty Ltd
InventorRichard Hunwick
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A process and system are disclosed for recovering lithium from a lithium-containing silicate mineral. The process and system comprise mixing the silicate mineral with nitric acid. The process and system also comprise subjecting the mixture to a leaching process having conditions such that lithium values in the silicate mineral are leached from the silicate mineral as lithium nitrate. The nitric acid can be in aqueous, gaseous or precursor gaseous form.
Claims24
A process for producing lithium metal from a lithium-containing silicate mineral, the process comprising:
- subjecting the silicate mineral to an acid leach in a leaching reactor in which lithium is extracted from the silicate mineral;
- thermally treating the extracted lithium in a thermal treatment unit so as to convert it into lithium oxide;
- subjecting the lithium oxide to a carbothermal reduction stage in a carbothermal reduction furnace in which the lithium oxide is mixed with a source of carbon;
- wherein the carbothermal reduction stage is operated at a temperature sufficient to cause the lithium oxide to be reduced to lithium metal and the carbon source to be oxidised into gaseous form.
A system for producing lithium metal from a lithium-containing silicate mineral, the system comprising:
- a leaching reactor in which a mixture of the silicate mineral and nitric acid is subjected to conditions such that lithium in the silicate mineral is leached from the silicate mineral as lithium nitrate;
- a thermal treatment unit configured to operate at a temperature that causes lithium nitrate from the leaching reactor to decompose into solid Li2O;
- a carbothermal reduction furnace in which a blend of the solid Li2O and a source of carbon is heated to a temperature sufficient to cause the lithium oxide to be reduced to lithium metal and the carbon source to be oxidised into gaseous form.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.