Collection of Lithium from Sea Water by an Adsorption Plate Method.

Abstract

Lithium was collected from an artificial ocean current by using an adsorption plate method. For this experiment, 30 tons of sea water were transported to our laboratory from Beppu Bay, Japan and an artificial ocean current was generated in a circulating water channel. We used an adsorption plate made from acrylic plate onto which an oxygen-manganese type powder adsorbent was applied. The experimental results are shown as follows:(1) It was confirmed that over 400mg Li were collected per unit square meter of adsorption plate, after 60hours, in an artificial ocean current of 125cm/sec. This amount of Li is equivalent to the Li content of 58g spodumene, which is the most popular Li land ore.(2) The rate of Li adsorption depended significantly on the ocean current velocity. Therefore, in our opinion, an industrial Li collection plant should be constructed at a sea area where exists a natural ocean current, such as the Kuroshio current.(3) The Li collecting ability of the adsorption plate was maintained throughout 16 tests of Li collection from the ocean current.