Lithium Harvesting from the Most Abundant Primary and Secondary Sources: A Comparative Study on Conventional and Membrane Technologies

The exponential rise in lithium demand over the last decade, as one of the largest sources for energy storage in terms of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), has posed a great threat to the existing lithium supply and demand balance. The current methodologies available for lithium extraction, separation and recovery, both from primary (brines/seawater) and secondary (LIBs) sources, suffer not only at the hands of excessive use of chemicals but complicated, time-consuming and environmentally detrimental design procedures. Researchers across the world are working to review and update the available technologies for lithium harvesting in terms of their economic and feasibility analysis. Following its excessive consumption of sustainable energy resources, its demand has risen sharply and therefore requires urgent attention. In this paper, different available methodologies for lithium extraction and recycling from the most abundant primary and secondary lithium resources have been reviewed and compared. This review also includes the prospects of using membrane technology as a promising replacement for conventional methods.