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US 5,219,550 AGranted
Production of low boron lithium carbonate from lithium-containing brine
AssigneeCyprus Foote Mineral Company
InventorsPatrick M. Brown, Daniel A. Boryta
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Abstract
The present invention relates to a novel process for producing, from a lithium-containing brine, a low boron lithium carbonate compound. This compound is particularly useful for conversion to a highly pure lithium chloride for the production of lithium metal by electrolysis.
Claims11
The process of producing lithium carbonate with a low boron content from a lithium-containing brine which consists essentially of the steps of:
- (a) contacting a lithium chloride brine having a lithium content of from about 2 to about 7 percent, by weight, and which is saturated with respect to metal salt hydrates present in the brine, is substantially free of free water, and is at a pH of about 1-2 measured when diluted with 10 volumes of water, with an organic solution consisting essentially of from about 5 to about 50% by volume of a fatty alcohol containing from 6 to 16 carbon atoms in kerosene, at an organic solution-to-brine volume ratio of between about 1:1 and about 5:1, to extract boron from the brine into the organic phase;
- (b) separating said organic solution phase from said brine;
- (c) removing magnesium and calcium form said brine;
- (d) adding sodium carbonate to precipitate lithium carbonate from said brine;
- and
- (e) separating the resulting lithium carbonate therefrom.
3 more elements
The process of producing lithium carbonate with a low boron content from a lithium-containing brine which consists essentially of the steps:
- (a) contacting a lithium chloride brine having a lithium content of from about 2 to about 7.0 percent, by weight, and which is saturated with respect to metal salt hydrates present in the brine, is substantially free of free water, and is at a pH of about 1-2 measured when diluted with 10 volumes of water, with an organic solution of from about 10 to about 40% by volume of a fatty alcohol containing from 6 to 16 carbon atoms in kerosene at an organic solution to brine volume ratio of between about 1:1 and about 5:1, to extract boron from the brine into the organic solution phase;
- (b) separating said organic solution phase from said brine;
- (c) removing magnesium and calcium from said brine;
- (d) adding sodium carbonate to precipitate lithium carbonate from said brine;
- and
- (e) separating the resulting lithium carbonate therefrom.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.