La demanda de vehículos eléctricos (VE) que requieren baterías de litio actualmente supera a la cadena de suministro de litio. Summit Nanotech aborda los desafíos asociados con la garantía de un suministro sostenible de litio para satisfacer la demanda global requerida para la transición energética.
Sorbent-based direct lithium extraction (DLE) has emerged as the preferred approach for lithium extraction from brine. Summit is leading this shift with a high-performance sorbent and system that delivers the lowest levelized cost of lithium in the DLE market.
Las dos fuentes principales de litio son la salmuera y la roca dura.
The traditional extraction process for brine includes large evaporation ponds that use solar energy and chemicals to produce lithium. While this process has worked in the past, it’s not able to sustainably meet modern demand. We are now looking to evolve production so that it uses less resources.
Los salares de América del Sur son únicos porque se encuentran en altitudes muy altas en lugares desérticos. En pozas de evaporación tradicionales, el agua de la salmuera se evapora mediante radiación solar y aditivos químicos para precipitar otras sales disueltas, junto con hasta el 60% del litio, hasta que quede una solución concentrada de litio. Este proceso elimina grandes cantidades de agua del ecosistema, lo que ejerce presión sobre las comunidades cercanas, que dependen de la escasez de agua dulce de los acuíferos existentes, además del impacto ecológico en la tierra. A medida que las empresas se esfuerzan por mejorar los objetivos ESG, muchas están adoptando tecnologías alternativas para garantizar que todos puedan participar en una economía más ecológica y, al mismo tiempo, reconocer los derechos y las necesidades de las comunidades afectadas por las operaciones mineras.
Adsorption is seen as the winning DLE technology, with most brine asset owners choosing it as they scale to commercialization. Solid sorbent beads selectively bind lithium from brine, which is released when washed with water. Since no chemicals come into contact with the brine, this makes the brine reinjection-friendly.
We tackled the hardest problem first: optimizing multi-column performance at full commercial complexity. The result is an unrivaled combination of high recovery, high impurity rejection, and low water use.
DLE sorbent is most valuable when it excels in performance and durability; both are primary drivers of process economics. Our robust sorbent has industry leading performance with long-haul durability.
Our advanced predictive model enables rapid virtual testing of operating parameters and lays the groundwork for real-time monitoring and optimization at commercial scale.
Backed by our extensive field experience, we’ve engineered a commercially-representative system to validate plant design for your exact brine – delivering the certainty needed for full-scale deployment.
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