Effect of operational conditions on separation of lithium from geothermal water by ?-MnO2 using ion exchange–membrane filtration hybrid process

Abstract

A hybrid system coupling ion exchange and ultrafiltration (UF) was employed to separate lithium from lithium-spiked geothermal water. The effect of process parameters such as adsorbent type, adsorbent dosage, permeate flow rate, and replacement speeds of fresh and saturated adsorbents have been evaluated to determine the efficiency of the hybrid system. According to the results obtained using λ-MnO2 derived from spinel-type lithium manganese dioxide, the optimal operating conditions to separate lithium from geothermal water were found with powdery λ-MnO2 with an adsorbent concentration of 1.5 g adsorbent/L solution, replacement rates of fresh and saturated adsorbents of 6.0 mL/min, and a permeate flow rate of 5.0 mL/min. The ion exchange–UF hybrid system providing an advantage to work with very fine particles easily can be considered as a favorable process for the separation of lithium from geothermal water.