| Abstract Scope |
Lithium is currently primarily used to manufacture Li-ion battery electrodes. Environmental and energy burdens from the lithium production sector have been of the key subjects as lithium demand is expected to rise tenfold by 2050 from 2023 levels driven by increased production of electric vehicles and potential lithium-6 needs from nuclear fusion power generation. While well established, existing practices (evaporative and direct lithium extraction) from brines induce large carbon footprints associated with solid additives, sorbents, acids, and transportation, in addition to freshwater consumption from local water systems. Various direct brine carbonation approaches using CO2 injection, an alternative to the existing lithium practices, suggest the potential reduction of the current environmental and energy burdens, leading to carbon-negative lithium production, if integrated viably. In this paper, such impacts from CO2-based direct carbonation are discussed. |