Preparation of Lithium Carbonate From Lithium Chloride Containing Brines

摘要

This invention relates to a method for the preparation of lithium carbonate from lithium chloride containing brines. The method can include a silica removal step, capturing lithium chloride, recovering lithium chloride, supplying lithium chloride to an electrochemical cell and producing lithium hydroxide, contacting the lithium hydroxide with carbon dioxide to produce lithium carbonate.

主权项

1. A method for preparing lithium carbonate from a lithium chloride containing solution, the method comprising the steps of:
supplying a lithium chloride containing solution to a silica removal step to produce a silica-lean lithium chloride containing solution; said silica removal step operable to remove at least a portion of silica present in the lithium chloride containing stream; supplying said silica-lean lithium chloride containing solution to a lithium chloride capture step, said lithium chloride capture step being operable to capture said lithium chloride from the silica-lean lithium chloride containing stream; recovering lithium chloride from the lithium capture step to produce a lithium chloride rich stream; supplying the lithium chloride-rich stream to an electrochemical cell, wherein the electrochemical cell is maintained at conditions sufficient to produce a lithium hydroxide-rich solution; and contacting said lithium hydroxide-rich solution with carbon dioxide to produce lithium carbonate.