A Study on Recovery of Lithium from Geothermal Water and Study of Assal Geothermal Field

Abstract

ABSTRACT Geothermal fluid is an important source of lithium (Li). Li is a metal increasingly demanded in the cell industry. The purpose of this project study is to learn basic chemistry on the recovery of lithium from geothermal water. There are several methods for recovery of Li such as separation: electrodialysis, solvent extraction, adsorption, and membrane filtration. In this study, we selected the adsorption method using λ-MnO2 (granuled) because it is the most economical and eco-friendly method. The conditions of the column experiments for recovery of lithium from Unzen geothermal water were fixed for bed volume 9.27g, Space velocity = 7.5 BV/h = 69.5 mL/h and flow rate = 1.0 mL/min. The geothermal water sample content (mg/l). B-14.7; Na+- 2540; K +-259; NH4+-17 Ca2+- 194; Mg2+- 212; HCO3- -217; F- 0.5 Cl- - 4590; SO4- 379. Concentration of silicic acid in this sample is around 192 ppm. Assal geothermal fields in Djibouti are significantly rich in mineral to be potentially economically viable. Concentration of Li is around 33 ppm. This can lead us to research for the extraction of lithium and rentables minerals. Some companies like Geo40 in new Zealand it is launched the extraction of lithium after having removed the silica