Enhancing Lithium extraction via ionic liquid coupled electrochemical methods

IF 4.8 2区材料科学 Q1 METALLURGY & METALLURGICAL ENGINEERING

Hydrometallurgy Pub Date : 2025-07-24 DOI:10.1016/j.hydromet.2025.106539

Xinyuan Lan , Rong Liu , Liyan Xue , Minzhong Huang , Meiying Xie , Hongye Wang , Hao Zhang , Fan Yang

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The efficient recovery of lithium (Li⁺) from salt lakes has become a pressing issue for the lithium battery industry. In this study, an electrochemically enhanced extraction system with industrialization potential was developed, which increased the separation efficiency of Li⁺ by coupling an electric field with ionic liquid extraction. A promising 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium-2-thiophenecarbonyl trifluoroacetone ([C₄mim][TTA]) extraction agent was developed. Furthermore, the functionalized ionic liquid (FIL) was dissolved in an ionic liquid mixture to further increase its extraction capacity. The separation performance and mechanisms of Li⁺ through [C₄mim][TTA] liquid–liquid extraction were investigated. The results showed that within a pH range greater than 2, [C₄mim][TTA] had a very high separation efficiency for Li⁺. Additionally, liquid–liquid extraction in solutions simulating the concentrations of Li⁺, Na⁺, and K⁺ found in salt lakes revealed very high Li⁺ separation coefficients of β_Li/K = 3746 and β_Li/Na = 1287. Under an applied electric field of 2.4 V, the electrochemically enhanced extraction system achieved separation coefficients of β_Li/K = 6678 and β_Li/Na = 3068 within 2 h, which represent the highest reported values to date. In this study, a novel electrochemically coupled ionic liquid extraction system with potential for industrialization is proposed.

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离子液体耦合电化学方法提高锂提取效率

从盐湖中高效回收锂离子已成为锂电池行业亟待解决的问题。本研究开发了一种具有工业化潜力的电化学强化萃取系统，通过电场与离子液体萃取的耦合作用，提高了Li+的分离效率。研制了一种很有前途的1-丁基-3-甲基咪唑-2-噻吩羰基三氟丙酮（[C4mim][TTA]）萃取剂。将功能化离子液体（FIL）溶解在离子液体混合物中，进一步提高其萃取能力。研究了[C4mim][TTA]液液萃取对Li+的分离性能及机理。结果表明，在大于2的pH范围内，[C4mim][TTA]对Li+具有很高的分离效率。此外，在模拟盐湖中Li+、Na+和K+浓度的溶液中进行液液萃取，发现Li+分离系数非常高，βLi/K = 3746, βLi/Na = 1287。在2.4 V的外加电场下，电化学强化萃取体系在2 h内获得了βLi/K = 6678和βLi/Na = 3068的分离系数，这是迄今为止报道的最高值。本研究提出了一种具有工业化潜力的新型电化学耦合离子液体萃取系统。

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来源期刊

Hydrometallurgy 工程技术-冶金工程

CiteScore

9.50

自引率

6.40%

发文量

144

审稿时长

3.4 months

期刊介绍： Hydrometallurgy aims to compile studies on novel processes, process design, chemistry, modelling, control, economics and interfaces between unit operations, and to provide a forum for discussions on case histories and operational difficulties. Topics covered include: leaching of metal values by chemical reagents or bacterial action at ambient or elevated pressures and temperatures; separation of solids from leach liquors; removal of impurities and recovery of metal values by precipitation, ion exchange, solvent extraction, gaseous reduction, cementation, electro-winning and electro-refining; pre-treatment of ores by roasting or chemical treatments such as halogenation or reduction; recycling of reagents and treatment of effluents.