High-purity electrolytic lithium obtained from low-purity sources using solid electrolyte

Jialiang Lang, Yang Jin, Kai Liu, Yuanzheng Long, Haitian Zhang, Longhao Qi, Hui Wu () and Yi Cui ()
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Jialiang Lang: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University
Yang Jin: Zhengzhou University
Kai Liu: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University
Yuanzheng Long: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University
Haitian Zhang: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University
Longhao Qi: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University
Hui Wu: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University
Yi Cui: Stanford University

Nature Sustainability, 2020, vol. 3, issue 5, 386-390

Abstract: Abstract Lithium (Li) is an important resource for the sustainability of socioeconomic systems given its wide use in various industrial applications. The industrial production of Li metals relies on the electrolysis of a mixture consisting of high-purity lithium chloride (LiCl) and potassium chloride. However, the purification of LiCl is expensive and unsustainable, requiring a substantial amount of energy and the use of noxious chemical reagents, so that producing high-purity Li efficiently and sustainably is a challenge. Herein we report a new method of producing high-purity electrolytic Li from low-purity LiCl using solid-state electrolyte. Taking advantage of the high Li-ion selectivity of the solid electrolyte, we directly obtained high-purity metallic Li through the electrolysis of low-purity LiCl. Our new method provides two important advantages over conventional methods: (1) the cost of producing high-purity Li is reduced by using low-purity LiCl from low-grade brine, and the simpler purification process reduces the use of energy and chemical reagents; and (2) the operating temperature of the electrolytic process decreases from 400 °C to 240 °C, leading to an additional reduction in energy use.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41893-020-0485-x

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