The research on high-efficiency lithium extraction technology from salt lake brine by Lanshen has been unanimously approved by experts

On May 26th, the "Research on High Efficiency Lithium Extraction Technology from Salt Lake Raw Brine" project, led by Minmetals Salt Lake Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Minmetals Salt Lake") and jointly developed with Xi'an Lanshen Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd. (now officially renamed "Xi'an Lanshen New Material Technology Co., Ltd.", hereinafter referred to as "Xi'an Lanshen"), passed the expert review organized by the Qinghai Provincial Department of Science and Technology in Beijing. The expert group led by Zheng Mianping, an academician of the CAE Member, agreed that the technical route is advanced and reasonable, and the original brine efficient lithium extraction process technology has been overcome. The technology innovation is obvious, reaching the level of *, and the results are remarkable. It is of great significance to the lithium extraction industry of salt lakes in China and the world. It is suggested to accelerate the industrialization application.

The project was launched in 2019, and the main material - an adsorbent capable of simultaneously separating lithium from potassium, sodium, and magnesium - was developed and produced by Xi'an Lanshen, who jointly completed the process research and verification of the continuous ion exchange adsorption device.

The project completed the construction of a nearly 1000 ton industrial production line in Minmetals Salt Lake in April 2021 and put it into operation. From the past two months of operation, the production equipment has been running continuously and stably, with various indicators better than the feasibility study. Due to the implementation of advanced technology in this project, the salt field drying process with long separation and concentration time and low yield is eliminated. Lithium, potassium, sodium, and magnesium can be simultaneously separated from the original brine in one step, shortening the production cycle from 2 years to 20 days. The production capacity is increased by 1.5 times, power consumption is reduced by more than 30%, and the "three wastes" are reduced significantly. The energy-saving and emission reduction effect is obvious, and the overall cost is greatly reduced. The total lithium extraction yield is increased to more than 2 times the original, reaching more than 70%. The product quality meets the standards for producing new energy lithium battery materials.