New, more sustainable methods of obtaining lithium

We know that lithium is one of the minerals that is receiving the most attention due to its need for the batteries that are used the most today. But with the arrival of electric cars, their consumption is expected to increase by 30% per year for many years.

On the other hand, lithium is extracted in the area of ​​Bolivia, Chile and Argentina, which is semi-desert and where water is a very scarce good.

And to further complicate the situation, in the extraction of lithium were used huge amounts of water to form lithium salts that were left to dry in the sun in large salt flats for a few days.

This seriously harmed the few inhabitants of the area who were left without water, so there was a logical social resistance to these extraction treatments.

When the problem arose and the urgent need to obtain lithium, many began to devise a way to obtain it without the initial waste of water, and it seems that they have succeeded

There are companies that have found a way to extract lithium directly from brine by means of special filtering instead of waiting for the water to evaporate.

One of these companies is Lilac (it is in the USA), which is also capable of extracting lithium from brine with higher extraction percentages, and once the lithium is extracted, the brine is left with the same level of water that can be returned to the land.

In addition, with these new processes, lithium is obtained in a matter of hours and not weeks as with evaporation methods.

Due to the incessant search for lithium, its price has risen and fallen a lot in recent years. In 2015 it was 5 dollars, it reached more than 20 in 2008 and in 2021 it is a little less than 7 dollars. The cause of these changes is that more deposits have been found in China and Australia.

But regardless of the deposits that exist, it is clear that the most sustainable extraction methods must be used, because precisely there is no excess water anywhere in the world.

Water is going to be a scarce asset that must be cared for and managed.