The mining of lithium, a material used in most rechargeable batteries, is essential in the age of electrification, but the process has notable environmental downsides. Now, as Interesting Engineering reports, a "greener" method of harvesting it has surfaced.
In order to support our renewable energy infrastructure and growing adoption of electric vehicles, we'll need more lithium. Currently, around half of the world's supply comes from South America and places such as Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile. Miners drill holes in salt flats and pump a mineral-rich brine to the surface, per the article.
Unfortunately, that process uses massive amounts of water. Around 500,000 gallons are used for each ton of lithium obtained, a valuable resource in those arid locations. Additionally, sulfuric acid and sodium hydroxide are commonly used in the extraction, which are harmful to ecosystems and local wildlife.
Overall, about 40% of the total climate impact from lithium comes from the mining and refining processes, according to Changeit.
Fortunately, LevertonHELM and EnBW have found a more sustainable method of extracting this desirable material. Through proprietary techniques, as IE puts it, the German-British team has managed to extract 99.5% pure lithium carbonate without traditional mining.
They've gotten it from the mineral-rich brine found at a geothermal power plant in Bruchsal, Baden-Württemberg. In this way, they're bypassing the normally invasive mining process and piggybacking on a sustainable European endeavor.
"We need energy storage technologies for the energy transition to succeed. Lithium plays a decisive role in the expansion of electromobility and renewable energies," as Thomas Kölbel, an expert in research and development at EnBW, explained in the IE piece.
"Together with LevertonHELM, we want to tap into this resource and create a sustainable source of lithium to meet the growing demand in Germany and Europe."
Similar progress has been made stateside, where teams are working to extract lithium from the geothermal brine in California's Salton Sea using clean methods. Lithium is filtered out of waters that are surfaced to power electricity-generating turbines before they're returned back to the Earth.
By extracting materials from existing geothermal plants, we can reduce the need for invasive mining and improve the quality of life for the people and wildlife currently living near facilities. It can also help curb the pollution generated from the processes.
Other efforts to reduce the deleterious impact of rare-metal mining are exploring cheaper and more commonly found alternatives, such making batteries with sodium or zinc. It's even been found that pyrite (or "fool's gold") in old disused mines can be a source for this precious metal.
Importantly, existing lithium-based batteries can also be recycled, supporting a more sustainable circular economy.
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