Methods and compositions for recovery of lithium from liquid solutions with nanoparticles
AssigneeMoselle Technologies, LLC
InventorsRobert L. Albright, Stanley M. Meyer
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present disclosure relates, according to some embodiments, to a method for recovery of lithium ions from a lithium-ion containing liquid, the method comprising the steps of coating a nanoparticle with a styrene monomer; polymerizing the styrene monomer to form a polystyrene-coated nanoparticle; attaching a dibenzo-12-crown-4-ether to the polystyrene-coated nanoparticle to form a lithium adsorbing medium; exposing the lithium ion-containing liquid to the lithium adsorbing medium to form a lithium-rich adsorbing medium; and extracting the lithium ion from the lithium-rich adsorbing medium.
Claims15
-12. (canceled)
A method for manufacturing a medium for adsorbing metal ions, the method comprising:
- coating a nanoparticle with a styrene monomer, wherein the nanoparticle comprises a ferrous material;
- polymerizing the styrene monomer to form a polystyrene coating on the nanoparticle;
- and
- attaching a crown ether to the polystyrene coating to form the medium.
A medium for recovering metal ions from a liquid, the medium comprising:
- a nanoparticle comprising a metal, wherein the metal is ferrous and the nanoparticle is coated with polystyrene;
- and
- a crown ether attached to the polystyrene.
A method for recovery of metal ions, the method comprising:
- providing a first medium adapted to adsorb the metal ions, the first medium comprising a nanoparticle, the nanoparticle comprising a polystyrene coating and a crown ether;
- exposing a solution containing the metal ions to the first medium to form a second medium enriched with the metal ions and a liquid depleted of the metal ions;
- treating the second medium with a weak acid;
- and
- extracting the metal ions from the second medium.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.