Environmental impact assessment of α-spodumene production from Lithium mining in Australia

IF 10.9 1区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ENGINEERING, ENVIRONMENTAL

Resources Conservation and Recycling Pub Date : 2025-09-24 DOI:10.1016/j.resconrec.2025.108601

Shamsunnahar Setu, Vladimir Strezov

{"title":"Environmental impact assessment of α-spodumene production from Lithium mining in Australia","authors":"Shamsunnahar Setu, Vladimir Strezov","doi":"10.1016/j.resconrec.2025.108601","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The global transition to renewable energy technologies and electric vehicles has significantly increased the demand for lithium-ion batteries. This study evaluates the environmental impacts of producing α-spodumene from hard-rock sources in eight Australian facilities using plant emission data. Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) results indicate an average global warming potential (GWP) of 0.4 kg CO₂ eq/kg α-spodumene, primarily from diesel-powered mining and processing. Beyond GWP, significant contributions were identified for terrestrial ecotoxicity, human health impacts from fine particulate matter (PM<sub>2.5</sub>) formation, and non-carcinogenic toxicity attributed to the release of heavy metals and chemical reagents during ore beneficiation, the generation of contaminated dust and tailings, and the potential for leaching into adjacent soils. These findings highlight the need to reduce emissions of CO<sub>2</sub>, NOx, PM<sub>2.5</sub>, and toxic metals in upstream lithium extraction, as they represent the most critical environmental and human health burdens associated with lithium ore mining.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21153,"journal":{"name":"Resources Conservation and Recycling","volume":"225 ","pages":"Article 108601"},"PeriodicalIF":10.9000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Resources Conservation and Recycling","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344925004781","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENGINEERING, ENVIRONMENTAL","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

The global transition to renewable energy technologies and electric vehicles has significantly increased the demand for lithium-ion batteries. This study evaluates the environmental impacts of producing α-spodumene from hard-rock sources in eight Australian facilities using plant emission data. Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) results indicate an average global warming potential (GWP) of 0.4 kg CO₂ eq/kg α-spodumene, primarily from diesel-powered mining and processing. Beyond GWP, significant contributions were identified for terrestrial ecotoxicity, human health impacts from fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) formation, and non-carcinogenic toxicity attributed to the release of heavy metals and chemical reagents during ore beneficiation, the generation of contaminated dust and tailings, and the potential for leaching into adjacent soils. These findings highlight the need to reduce emissions of CO₂, NOx, PM_2.5, and toxic metals in upstream lithium extraction, as they represent the most critical environmental and human health burdens associated with lithium ore mining.

Abstract Image

查看原文本刊更多论文

澳大利亚锂矿生产α-锂辉石的环境影响评价

全球向可再生能源技术和电动汽车的过渡大大增加了对锂离子电池的需求。本研究利用工厂排放数据评估了澳大利亚8个工厂从硬岩源中生产α-锂辉石的环境影响。生命周期影响评价（LCIA）结果表明，平均全球变暖潜势（GWP）为0.4 kg CO₂eq/kg α-锂辉石，主要来自柴油动力开采和加工。除了全球变暖潜能值之外，还确定了陆地生态毒性、细颗粒物（PM2.5）形成对人类健康的影响、矿物选矿过程中重金属和化学药剂释放造成的非致癌毒性、受污染的粉尘和尾矿的产生以及浸出到邻近土壤的可能性。这些发现强调了在上游锂开采过程中减少二氧化碳、氮氧化物、PM2.5和有毒金属排放的必要性，因为它们是与锂矿开采相关的最关键的环境和人类健康负担。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Resources Conservation and Recycling 环境科学-工程：环境

CiteScore

22.90

自引率

6.10%

发文量

625

审稿时长

23 days

期刊介绍： The journal Resources, Conservation & Recycling welcomes contributions from research, which consider sustainable management and conservation of resources. The journal prioritizes understanding the transformation processes crucial for transitioning toward more sustainable production and consumption systems. It highlights technological, economic, institutional, and policy aspects related to specific resource management practices such as conservation, recycling, and resource substitution, as well as broader strategies like improving resource productivity and restructuring production and consumption patterns. Contributions may address regional, national, or international scales and can range from individual resources or technologies to entire sectors or systems. Authors are encouraged to explore scientific and methodological issues alongside practical, environmental, and economic implications. However, manuscripts focusing solely on laboratory experiments without discussing their broader implications will not be considered for publication in the journal.