Oceanic Lithium Extraction
Industry: Lithium production
Lithium, a key strategic resource in the ongoing electrification of transportation, is currently acquired through lime-soda evaporation, a practice that’s slow, geographically restricted and environmentally harmful. The Oceanic Lithium Extraction project developed at Georgia Tech is a way to for extract lithium from ocean water, where it can be found abundantly but in low concentrations.
This electrochemical approach can selectively remove lithium ions from seawater and brine in a process that is much cheaper and more environmentally friendly than the lime-soda evaporation method. The ocean contains an estimated 16,000 times the amount of lithium than is found on land.
