Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

lukefive t1_jeet9f5 wrote

Reply to comment by skedeebs in Inexpensive and environmentally friendly mechanochemical recycling process recovers 70% of lithium from batteries by chrisdh79

The ocean is the biggest practical source but desalination is expensive. They don't really mine it, they use desert floors where old salt water dried up. Lithium is a salt in saltwater so they don't really need to dig much. But in the ocean it's like 0.2%. In salt flats it's like 1%. In recycling it's almost 100%

25

Bucktabulous t1_jeezyda wrote

Time to mine the dried-up bed of the great Salt Lake, I guess.

10

reven80 t1_jefligi wrote

Its happening with the Salton sea in California. Its rich in minerals and already polluted a long while back so not much animal life around.

6

ApricotBeneficial452 t1_jef2j9l wrote

Excuse the tinfoil on my head, but is it being done ON PURPOSE?!

I have heard, but haven't retained the reason it is happening. Care to eli5?

2

AgentTin t1_jefblzn wrote

Too many people in the desert using too much water. Farming is the biggest culprit. A long time ago they made a plan to distribute the water but they gave away too much even then. The problem has become worse because there hasn't been enough rain in the region for, like, a decade. Now unless people agree to stop using water the place could become uninhabitable, at least for the number of people who want to live there.

5

Bucktabulous t1_jefsxcr wrote

Yeah, for whatever reason, they've chosen the deserts of Utah to grow Alfalfa, a grass-style feedstock that needs an upsetting amount of water.

2

sillyslime89 t1_jeg5ki5 wrote

Alfalfa to ship to the Middle East to feed race horses for the royalty

4

GI_X_JACK t1_jeg8vfi wrote

Or it solves some of the issue of "what do we do with the salt after we desalinate" making desalination for drinking water more attractive.

3

Bensemus t1_jeguw5x wrote

Ya lithium extraction from sea water can be paired with desalination for drinking water. Desalination is already being used and with water becoming more scarce we will increase our reliance on it.

1

an0therblizzard t1_jefkbfa wrote

Its very likely, and probably within 10 years, not nearly as much lithium will be in batteries at all. There are so many interesting alternatives coming out that actually seem to have a lot of potential.

Even things like adding iron to reduce the amount of lithium is already a thing.

2