Lithium Isotope Green Separation Using Water Scrubbing

Both high purity 6Li and 7Li are indispensable materials in the nuclear industry. We propose a new strategy for 6Li enrichment. Comparing with traditional extraction enrichment, scrubbing is the main process of lithium isotope enrichment for new strategies, rather than the extraction. 6Li reaches 9.42% after 20-stage scrubbing. The method provides a green and efficient process. This makes it possible to replace the lithium amalgam method for separation of lithium isotopes and may shed light on separation of the other stable isotopes. Both high purity 6Li and 7Li are indispensable materials in nuclear industry. We propose a new strategy for 6Li enrichment. Comparing with traditional extraction enrichment, the scrubbing is the main process of lithium isotope enrichment for strategy. The abundance of 6Li in organic phase increases stably with the number of scrubbing stages. 6Li can reach 9.42% after 20-stages scrubbing.