| Author(s) |
Jesús Iván Martínez Soto, J. C. Juárez-Tapia, F. Patińo Cardona, M. Reyes-Pérez, M. U. Flores-Guerrero, R. A. Vazquez-García, V. Acosta-Sánchez, G. Cisneros-Flores, A. Hernandez Martinez |
| Abstract Scope |
This study compares the efficiency of seven leaching systems: glycine, cysteine, ferrous sulfate, sulfuric, oxalic, citric, and malic acids in the extraction of lithium from pegmatitic minerals: lepidolite and spodumene. The tests were carried out under standard conditions: controlled pH, particle size of 37 microns, solid/liquid ratio of 1 g/L, 800 rpm, and 3 h of reaction. Lepidolite showed greater reactivity, reaching 83.5% extraction with sulfuric acid in 20 min, while oxalic acid achieved 75.1% in just 10 min, standing out as a promising green alternative. In contrast, spodumene showed lower overall performance, although malic acid outperformed conventional reagents with 27% extraction in 10 min. The results reveal that efficiency depends significantly on the mineral characteristics and the type of reagent, positioning certain organic acids as viable candidates to replace inorganic lixiviants in more sustainable lithium recovery processes from complex solid matrices. |