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Lithium is a very important energy storage material. The lithium resources in China's salt lakes are mainly distributed in the salt lakes on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, and the brine types are mainly carbonate and sulfate. Carbonate type lithium resources are mainly concentrated in the Zhabuye Salt Lake in northwestern Tibet and the Bangor Dujiali Salt Lake in eastern Tibet, while sulfate type lithium resources are mainly distributed in the Qaidam Basin and northern Tibet.

From the perspectives of resource grade, difficulty level, and mining cost, the brine resources of the South American "Lithium Triangle" and the ore resources of Australia are currently the most valuable for mining globally.

In 2017, the global production of lithium and its derivatives (calculated as metallic lithium) was approximately 43000 tons, with Australia producing 18700 tons, accounting for 43.49%; Chile has 14100 tons, accounting for 32.79%; Argentina has 5500 tons, accounting for 12.79%; China has 3000 tons, accounting for 6.98%. The increase in production mainly comes from China (up 30% year-on-year) and Australia (up 34% year-on-year).

From the perspective of resource endowment, the salt lakes in the South American "Lithium Triangle" (northern Chile, western Bolivia, northern Argentina) have inherent advantages: good resource endowment (with the lowest global magnesium lithium ratio), and the salt lakes can use mature precipitation methods (with a total cost of more than 10000-15000 yuan/ton); Long term development and continuous infrastructure investment have formed a mature industrial cluster.

In addition, the advantages of lithium mines in western Australia lie in high ore grade, mature downstream lithium extraction technology, and long mining years. At present, the Greenbushes lithium mine under the Australian company Talison (underwritten by Tianqi Lithium and American Yabao) has a proven reserve of 61.5 million tons, equivalent to 4.3 million tons of lithium carbonate equivalent. The average grade of lithium oxide is 2.8%, which is the highest grade lithium mine in the world. The complete cost of lithium extraction is around 38000 yuan/ton.

Global lithium mines can be classified into two types based on their morphology: brine type and hard rock type, with 66% found in brine and 34% in ore.

The lithium resources in China's salt lakes are mainly distributed in the salt lakes on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, and the brine types are mainly carbonate and sulfate. Carbonate type lithium resources are mainly concentrated in the Zhabuye Salt Lake in northwestern Tibet and the Bangor Dujiali Salt Lake in eastern Tibet, while sulfate type lithium resources are mainly distributed in the Qaidam Basin and northern Tibet.

Among them, the morphological composition of salt lakes accounts for 80%. The lithium salt lake resource reserves in China are geographically distributed in Qinghai and Xizang, which account for about 80% of the total lithium resource reserves in China, of which the lithium resource reserves in Qinghai account for nearly 50% and that in Xizang account for 28.36%. Lithium pyroxene is mainly distributed in Xinjiang, Sichuan, and Henan; Lithium mica type deposits are mainly distributed in Jiangxi, Hunan and other areas, with a total proportion of less than 20%.

There are four main salt lake areas in China:

Salt Lake District, Inner Mongolia

The main salt lakes in this salt lake area are carbonate and sulfate salt lakes, with a lack of chloride salt lakes. The salt lake resources in the area are quite abundant, especially known for solid rock salt, saltpeter, and natural alkali, while the brine resources are inferior to other lake areas. The total reserves of rock salt in the entire region are about 200 million tons, the reserves of saltpeter (Na: SO) are about 3.3 billion tons, and the total reserves of natural alkali (NaHCO3+Na: C03) are nearly 40 million tons.

Salt Lake District, Xinjiang

This salt lake area is mainly composed of sulfates, followed by carbonate and chloride salt lakes. Among the sulfate types, the sodium sulfate subtype is the main type, followed by the magnesium sulfate subtype. In some sulfate and individual carbonate salt lakes, boron is relatively concentrated, but much less so than in Qinghai and Xizang lake areas. The total reserves of rock salt in the region are 6.6 billion tons (excluding liquid reserves), 50 billion tons of gypsum, 225 million tons of saltpeter, 50 million tons of sodium nitrate, and 40.237 million tons of potassium salt resources in Lop Nur alone. It will become a reserve base for potassium salt production in China.

Qinghai Salt Lake Area

This area is the lake region with the richest salt lake resources in China, mainly distributed in the Qaidam Basin, Kekexili Basin, and Kumukuli Basin. The salt lake types are mainly sulfate, and most of them exist in the magnesium sulfate subtype. There are also a considerable number of chloride type salt lakes. In the magnesium sulfate subtype salt lakes, in addition to depositing a large amount of rock salt and saltpeter, some lake regions also deposit a considerable amount of borate, while others deposit a certain amount of potassium magnesium salt. Lithium, boron and other elements are highly enriched in some sulfate and chloride type salt lake brines, forming sulfate type lithium lakes and chloride type potassium magnesium lakes. The rock salt reserves in this area are 365 billion tons, gypsum (CaSO. · 2H. 0) is 47 billion tons, saltpeter (NaSO. · 10H: 0) is 7.2 billion tons, lapis lazuli (SrSOt) is 5 million tons, natural alkali is 670000 tons, magnesium salt is 6.5 billion tons, potassium chloride is 590 million tons, borate and lithium are tens of millions of tons each.

Xizang Salt Lake Region

The types of salt lakes in this area are sulfate or carbonate, with sodium sulfate being the predominant subtype. The main salt deposits are saltpeter, rock salt, and borate, and some lake areas also have water magnesite deposits. The total reserves of rock salt in the region are 1 billion tons, with billions of tons of saltpeter, 10-20 million tons of borate and lithium salts, 700000 tons of magnesite, and hundreds of millions of tons of potassium chloride in brine.

The quality of Xizang salt lakes in China is higher than that of Qinghai, which is the most valuable for development. The brine of Xizang's salt lakes is characterized by high lithium and boron contents. The notable feature is that the Mg/Li value of the brine is low, or even contains almost no Mg2+. Lithium carbonate can be obtained by evaporation of the brine. Xizang's salt lake resources are mainly concentrated in Zabuye Salt Lake, Jiezechaka Salt Lake and Longmucuo Salt Lake in Ali region of Xizang.

Zabuye Salt Lake is the largest salt lake in China and the third largest in the world, with a lithium carbonate reserve of approximately 1.84 million tons. Zabuye Salt Lake is a natural carbonate salt lake with excellent resources. Its magnesium lithium ratio is only 0.019, which determines its low theoretical processing cost.

Xizang mining and Xizang urban investment are mainly engaged in the production of lithium from salt lakes in Xizang. Limited by geographical conditions, the development of lithium from salt lakes in Xizang is at an initial stage, with the output of less than 5000 tons in 2017.

Although Xizang has a good endowment of salt lakes, there are many problems in the specific operation. First of all, the average elevation of salt lakes in Xizang is more than 4500 meters. There is a lack of skilled workers in the local area, and it is difficult for expatriates to adapt to the harsh local environment; In addition, Xizang's salt lakes are mostly located between mountains, so there are few flat bottoms that can be used to install plant equipment, limiting the substantial expansion of production capacity. Therefore, most salt lake lithium extraction enterprises, such as Xizang Mining, primarily process the brine of salt lakes, and then transport it to Baiyin for secondary processing to generate lithium carbonate, with a transportation distance of more than 2000 kilometers.

To sum up, the expansion of salt lake enterprises in Xizang is mostly limited by business factors. Large scale development requires a large amount of capital investment to improve production capacity, and the economic feasibility is relatively poor.

Relatively speaking, after years of cultivation, lithium extraction from Qinghai Salt Lake has entered the harvest period.

The salt lake resources in Qinghai are mainly concentrated in the Cha'erhan, Dongxitai, and Dachaidan salt lakes.

There are 33 salt lakes in the Qaidam Basin of Qinghai Province, with a cumulative proven reserve of 13.9677 million tons of LiCl and a remaining reserve of 13.909 million tons. The 11 sulfate type salt lakes identified in the Qaidam Basin now have lithium content of industrial grade, mainly consisting of brine minerals, shallow burial, high grade, and simple hydrogeological conditions that are easy to mine. Among them, the Cha'erhan Salt Lake, the Jinaer Salt Lake (East West Platform), the Yiliping Salt Lake, and the Dachaidan Salt Lake have relatively rich lithium resources, accounting for 37.16%, 26.77% (East West Platform), 13.93%, and 22.13% of China's salt lake resources, respectively.

The high magnesium lithium ratio in Qinghai Salt Lake is one of the biggest obstacles to the industrial large-scale production of lithium carbonate.

Qinghai Salt Lake has abundant resources and good drying conditions, but the high magnesium lithium ratio of the salt lake itself poses great difficulties for lithium enrichment and separation. The magnesium lithium ratio of Atacama Salt Lake, the benchmark for world salt lake resources, is only 6:1; Although the Cha'erhan Salt Lake has the largest reserves, its original magnesium lithium ratio is 1577:1, and the lithium ion concentration is low; Dongtai Jinnaer Salt Lake has the smallest reserves, but the magnesium lithium ratio is the smallest, at 35.2:1 (18:1 for old brine); Xitai Jinnai Salt Lake is similar to Dongtai, with a magnesium lithium ratio of 61:1; The magnesium lithium ratio of Yiliping Salt Lake is 90.5:1 (51:1 for old brine); Dachaidan Salt Lake has the second largest reserve, with a magnesium lithium ratio of 134:1 (92:1 for old brine).

At present, the most commonly used methods for lithium extraction from Qinghai salt lakes in China are adsorption method (represented by Lanke Lithium) and membrane method (electrodialysis and nanofiltration membrane method) (nanofiltration membrane method represented by Hengxinrong). Since 2011, Lanke Lithium has been involved in the field of lithium extraction from salt lakes. By introducing second-generation adsorption technology from Russia, after years of adaptation and innovation of adsorbents, the company achieved a significant breakthrough in technology and began mass production in 2014; CITIC Guoan relied on the research of high magnesium lithium ratio salt lake separation and extraction of lithium from Xitai Jinnaer Salt Lake. In 2006, a breakthrough was made by using calcination method to extract lithium. However, due to serious environmental pollution, it was suspended until production resumed in 2016. During this period, Hengxinrong was established to purchase CITIC Guoan's brine resources and use nanofiltration membrane method to extract lithium.

After years of deep cultivation, some routes have been broken through and have now entered the stage of large-scale production.

The core technical aspects, such as adsorption method: the raw materials for adsorption method are already mastered by Lanxiao Technology and Xianfeng Holdings; Membrane technology: Qidi has independently developed membrane technology for lithium extraction, but Hengxinrong uses imported membranes. In 2017, there were 12 lithium extraction production enterprises in Qinghai Salt Lake, and the lithium extraction industry in Qinghai Salt Lake officially entered the stage of large-scale mining.

From a cost perspective: the cost of lithium extraction from lithium mica>the cost of lithium extraction from spodumene>the cost of lithium extraction from salt lakes.

Jiangte Electric's subsidiary Yichun Silver Lithium New Energy adopts lithium mica extraction technology, and its production cost can be controlled at 70000-80000 yuan/ton. Due to the poor quality and production of spodumene ore in China, domestic enterprises such as Ganfeng Lithium and Tianqi Lithium use imported spodumene to extract lithium. The cost of producing 1 ton of lithium product (raw material cost+production cost) ranges from 45000 to 60000 yuan. At present, the direct production cost of industrial grade lithium carbonate in salt lakes abroad is between 15000 and 20000 yuan/ton, while in China, due to the different quality of each salt lake, the production cost gap is large: the total cost of Xizang Mining can be controlled at 20000 yuan/ton; The complete cost of adsorption method is 30000 to 40000 yuan/ton; The complete cost of extraction method is between 20000 and 30000 yuan/ton; The cost of electrodialysis method in Qinghai Lithium Industry is 20000 yuan/ton; The membrane system of Hengxinrong's nanofiltration membrane method requires a large investment, with a total cost of about 60000 yuan/ton (estimated).

Foreign brine resources are of high quality, with a cost of approximately 20000 yuan/ton. The benchmark enterprise for lithium extraction cost - SQM has a low magnesium lithium ratio in brine, which can reach 30g/L by air drying (directly adding NaOH to remove magnesium, and then adding calcium carbonate). Therefore, only sodium bicarbonate precipitation is sufficient, and its resource endowment determines its absolute competitiveness in terms of complete cost. According to the SQM valuation report released by Tianqi Lithium, the direct cash cost of lithium business from 2015 to 2017 was $1789, $2243, and $2266 per ton (calculated at the annual average exchange rate of $1.11, $1.49, and $15300 per ton). This cost does not include depreciation and amortization that do not require cash payment, as well as leasing fees paid to Corfo. After comprehensive estimation of other expenses, the estimated cost is $20000 per ton.

The complete cost of lithium extraction from Qinghai Salt Lake in China is at the level of 20000 to 60000 yuan/ton. The different technological paths of salt lakes determine that the complete costs of lithium extraction enterprises in various salt lakes in Qinghai are different. According to research and public information, it is estimated that the comprehensive cost of lithium extraction enterprises in Qinghai Salt Lake in China is between 20000 and 60000 yuan/ton. Dongtai, Xitai Jinnaer, and Minmetals have good brine quality with a magnesium lithium ratio of around 50 and a lithium concentration of 4g/L. Therefore, Dongtai Qinghai Lithium can use ion membrane technology to produce battery grade lithium carbonate, with a cash cost of 30000 yuan. After considering brine costs and investment amortization, the cost is around 40000 yuan. The magnesium lithium ratio in Cha'erhan Salt Lake is as high as 136, and the lithium concentration is very low. After adopting the process of adsorption resin+membrane filtration, Lanke Lithium Industry is expected to gradually increase production in Qinghai Salt Lake in the future, and the market price will gradually achieve a new supply-demand balance.

In the long run, the complete release of lithium extraction from salt lakes in China will impact the hard rock lithium industry of countries around the world and China at a lower cost. In 1997, SQM lowered the price of lithium carbonate with high-quality brine and mature technology, causing most hard rock lithium mines and extraction enterprises worldwide to shut down. However, considering the gradual breakthrough of lithium extraction technology in Qinghai Salt Lake and the gradual release of new production capacity in the next two years, the supply will gradually become sufficient, and the market is expected to achieve a new supply-demand balance.

The brine endowment of each salt lake determines the different routes for lithium extraction

The characteristics of salt lakes determine the similarities and differences in lithium extraction processes

Different salt lakes correspond to different lithium enrichment and extraction processes. Lithium in salt lakes is generally extracted from the old brine left over from the production of sodium and potassium. After further lithium enrichment, the old brine undergoes evaporation, magnesium removal, and concentration to extract lithium ions and produce lithium carbonate. Xizang's salt lakes are of good quality, but the mining environment is not ideal; At present, Qinghai Salt Lake can still be developed, but the high Mg/Li ratio makes lithium extraction difficult. Compared with overseas salt lakes, additional lithium enrichment steps are required, and salt lakes correspond to different lithium enrichment and extraction processes due to different brine concentrations. The calcination method has relatively high requirements for raw materials, and the brine must reach a lithium concentration of 8-9g/L; The extraction method is suitable for brine resources with high magnesium and lithium content (generally requiring a lithium content of 2g/L); The precipitation method requires the mass concentration of lithium ions in salt lakes to be greater than 0.5g/L; Electrodialysis membrane separation technology is used to separate salt lake brine with a magnesium lithium weight ratio of 1:1-200:1, with a lithium content of 1g/L or more; The adsorption method is suitable for 0.1g/L brine.

There are currently seven methods for extracting lithium from salt lakes, among which adsorption and electrodialysis are the most commonly used in Qinghai, China. At present, the main salt lake brine extraction technologies used in the world include precipitation method (including carbonate precipitation method, aluminate precipitation method, hydrated lithium sulfate crystallization precipitation method, boron magnesium and boron lithium co precipitation method), calcination leaching method, carbonization method, solvent extraction method, adsorption method, electrodialysis method, membrane separation method, etc. Among them, solvent extraction method has not yet achieved large-scale industrial application.

Sedimentation method/solar pond method

Also known as the solar pond method, it is commonly used in salt ponds with high lithium concentrations. Evaporate and sun dry the old brine to obtain concentrated lithium rich brine, and use acidification or extraction methods to remove boron and calcium magnesium ions to obtain brine with higher lithium content. Afterwards, add a pure alkali precipitant to separate lithium from other salts. Directly separate Li2CO3 from the intergranular brine of alkaline carbonate salt lakes, use disodium hydrogen phosphate as a precipitant, separate lithium and phosphate ions through hydrogen or sodium cation resin, and precipitate lithium carbonate from the concentrated eluent.

At present, the sedimentation method/solar pond method is mainly used by Xizang Mining.

The company's main resource asset is the Zabuye Salt Lake, with a reserve of approximately 1.84 million tons and a very low magnesium lithium ratio of about 0.02. It is rich in by-products, including saltpeter (15.92 million tons based on potassium chloride) and borax (9.63 million tons based on boron oxide).

Zabuye Salt Lake belongs to the carbonate type salt lake, and can reach 60% to 70% lithium carbonate coarse ore by direct drying. Therefore, the lithium extraction process adopts gradient solar cell heating and lithium precipitation. The specific process method is to form a salt gradient layer with a certain thickness between the freshwater layer and the brine layer (to prevent heat from dissipating upwards), so that solar energy is stored in the brine at the bottom of the pool to form an energy storage zone, and the temperature of the brine is increased. The brine can be heated by 40-100 degrees Celsius in the solar pool, achieving the conditions for high-temperature precipitation of lithium carbonate and concentrating the precipitation of lithium carbonate.

However, the difficulty of expanding production lies in the fact that the salt lake contains carbonate ions, which leads to significant losses during the sun drying process. In addition, the salt lake is located at an altitude of 4000 meters, and there are problems such as a lack of mineral fuels, inconvenient transportation, and high altitude and oxygen deficiency in the local area. In addition, Xizang's salt lakes are located between mountains, and the construction of salt pans requires a flat place. This contradiction has brought difficulties in construction.

The crude lithium carbonate ore is transported to Gansu Baiyin for processing, and purified to 99.2% high-purity lithium using the causticization carbonization method, with a lithium recovery rate of 95%. The Baiyin Lithium Salt Factory has built a production capacity of 3000 tons of lithium hydroxide and 1500 tons of lithium carbonate. In 2017, it produced 1786 tons of industrial grade lithium carbonate, 186 tons of battery grade lithium carbonate, and 755.7 tons of lithium hydroxide, totaling 2728 tons.

Calcination leaching method

The calcination leaching method achieves lithium carbonate extraction through processes such as calcination, leaching, and precipitation. The calcination leaching method is to evaporate the brine after boron extraction to obtain tetrahydrate magnesium chloride, calcine to obtain magnesium oxide, then add water to leach lithium, remove impurities such as calcium and magnesium with lime milk and soda ash, evaporate and concentrate the solution to a Li content of about 2%, add soda ash to precipitate lithium carbonate, and refine the magnesium oxide slag after forging to obtain a purity of 98.5% magnesium oxide by-product.

The calcination method is beneficial for the comprehensive utilization of resources such as lithium and magnesium, with low raw material consumption. However, the extraction of magnesium makes the process complex, equipment corrodes severely, requires a large amount of water to evaporate, consumes a lot of energy, and has environmental pollution problems. In the current strict environmental protection regulatory environment, it faces significant environmental risks.

The calcination leaching method is mainly used by CITIC Guoan.

The Xitaijiner Salt Lake, which the company owns the development rights, is located in the central part of the Qaidam Basin, with an area of approximately 570 square kilometers. Xitaijinai Salt Lake is a large-scale comprehensive salt deposit mainly composed of liquid brine ore and solid-liquid symbiosis. It is rich in high-grade water salt system of lithium, potassium, boron, magnesium, and sodium, with a reserve of 2.3 million tons of lithium carbonate equivalent and an old brine magnesium lithium ratio of 40:1. The current production capacity is about 5000 tons, and stable production of battery grade lithium carbonate has been achieved.

The company uses solid-phase calcination method to separate magnesium, which has high cost and low profit, with a processing cost of about 60000 yuan per ton.

The use of existing technology is difficult to sustain: firstly, the calcination method requires relatively high raw material requirements, which must reach a concentration of 8-9 grams per liter of brine. The low concentration of West Taijinar Salt Lake makes it difficult to carry out calcination method. Secondly, calcination will produce hydrochloric acid, which has the problem of exhaust gas pollution. Further expansion of production requires an increase in electricity, and the local fuel is scarce, which is not enough to support further production.

Solvent extraction method

After removing boron from the old brine, FeCl3 solution is added to form LiFeCl4. LiFeCl4 is extracted into the organic phase using a tributyl phosphate (TBP) - kerosene extraction system to form the LiFeCl4+2TBP complex. After acid washing and back extraction with hydrochloric acid, anhydrous lithium chloride is obtained through evaporation concentration, calcination, leaching, and impurity removal processes. Finally, sodium carbonate is added to generate lithium carbonate.

The advantage of this method is that it is suitable for extracting lithium hydrochloride from salt lake brines with relatively high magnesium lithium ratios. However, in the extraction process, a large amount of brine needs to be treated, which is highly corrosive to the equipment and poses a problem of solvent loss. In the implementation process, the requirements for equipment materials are high, making it suitable for brine resources with high magnesium and lithium content (generally requiring a lithium content of 2 grams per liter).

Due to the high organic content in waste liquid, it can cause significant pollution to salt lakes, and extraction methods cannot meet industry requirements under increasingly high environmental standards.

The solvent extraction method is mainly used by Dahua Chemical.

Dahua Chemical holds the mining rights for an 80 square kilometer mining area in Dachaidan Salt Lake. The Dachaidan Salt Lake has been found to contain 2.859 million tons of potassium chloride in the intergranular brine; 450000 tons of boron; 309900 tons of lithium (equivalent to 1.61 million tons of lithium carbonate). The magnesium lithium ratio is 65:1, and the lithium content is around 0.38g/L. After potassium extraction, the lithium content of the old brine is 2.5g/L, ranking second in Qinghai.

The total investment of the company's Dachaidan Salt Lake development project is 1.25 billion yuan, which will be developed and constructed in three phases. The first phase of development includes: an annual production of 50000 tons of potassium chloride; 12000 tons of boric acid; 90000 tons of potassium magnesium sulfate fertilizer, 4500 tons of lithium chloride (lithium carbonate), and by-products; The second and third phases will focus on developing potassium series products, magnesium series products, and sodium series products.

At present, the company has a lithium carbonate production capacity of about 5000 tons, and has just put into operation 10000 tons of battery grade lithium carbonate.

By using extraction method to extract lithium, the cost can be controlled at around 20000 yuan/ton. The disadvantage is that the equipment is severely corroded, material separation is difficult, and a large amount of hydrochloric acid acidification treatment is required. Therefore, supporting acid production facilities are needed, which causes serious pollution; Residual organic matter in extractants pollutes the environment.

Adsorption method

The adsorption production process first selectively adsorbs lithium ions from salt lake brine using adsorbents, and then elutes the lithium ions to achieve separation from other ions, facilitating subsequent process conversion and utilization. The key to this process is the lithium adsorbent, which is required to eliminate the interference of a large number of coexisting alkali metal and alkaline earth metal ions in the brine, selectively adsorb lithium ions in the brine, and have high adsorption capacity and strength.

This method is particularly suitable for the separation of lithium in high magnesium and low lithium brines (with a magnesium lithium ratio of 500:1 or higher), as well as for dew with relatively low lithium content (generally above 300 mg/L). It has good selectivity in such brines and significant advantages compared to other methods. The production efficiency of ion adsorption method is high, and the lithium ion content (mg/L) after desorption is more than three times that of the raw brine. The biggest advantage of adsorption exchange method is its significant economic and environmental advantages, as well as its simple process, high recovery rate, and good selectivity.

Adsorption method+membrane concentration is mainly used by Lanke Lithium Industry.

The main resource of Lanke Lithium Industry is the Cha'erhan Salt Lake, with a total area of 5856 square kilometers and approximately 7.175 million tons of synthetic lithium carbonate. The ratio of magnesium to lithium in salt lake old brine is 400:1, and the lithium ion concentration is 0.25g/L.

In 2011, the company introduced the Russian adsorption method technology from Foshan Lighting. After years of testing, the complete production line for lithium extraction from salt lakes was completed in 2014. After process transformation, adsorption method transformation, adsorbent optimization, factory area, and equipment optimization and upgrading, the company began mass production in 2017 (while updating equipment, adding Na filter membranes, adding 24 adsorption towers to prepare for the future expansion of 30000 tons of lithium carbonate production, and mandatory evaporation equipment). 5002 tons were produced in the first half of 2018, with high-quality industrial grade lithium carbonate being the main focus this year.

The company currently has 88 operating adsorption towers, with an expected output of around 10000 tons in 2018. Currently, the company is achieving its target of 10000 tons of battery grade lithium carbonate this year by installing boron removal devices in the processing stage.

The company adopts a technical path of front-end adsorption+back-end membrane+chemical lithium deposition. The brine concentration of Lanke is low (0.1-0.2 g/L), requiring adsorbent and washing with fresh water to reduce the magnesium lithium ratio to 5:1. After intercepting and obtaining refined lithium chloride (concentration 0.5 g/L), a 4-5 g/L solution is obtained by pressurized infiltration.

In 2018, Lanke Lithium's process improvement replaced the cation resin magnesium removal process with a membrane based magnesium lithium separation process. The qualified solution (with a magnesium lithium ratio of 500:1) after single tower washing is provided to Qidi Water. Through Qidi Water's membrane process, the concentrated solution (with a magnesium lithium ratio of 3:400) purified by Qidi Water is sent to the Lanke Lithium salt field for drying to produce lithium carbonate products.

At present, Lanke Lithium has added 20000 tons of battery grade lithium carbonate production capacity, with a planned total investment of 3.2 billion yuan, and the actual investment may exceed 2 billion yuan. The complete cost of a single ton of lithium carbonate for Lanke Lithium Industry is about 40000 (233 million/8000 tons), and after technological transformation, the cost has been reduced, and the manufacturing cost is similar to that of Qinghai Lithium Industry.

Membrane method

The membrane method mainly includes electrodialysis and nanofiltration membrane separation.

The electrodialysis membrane separation technology has been industrialized in Dongtai Salt Lake in the Qaidam Basin. This technology is used to separate salt lake brine with a magnesium lithium weight ratio of 1:1-200:1. After passing through one or more electrodialysis devices, lithium is concentrated using a monovalent cation selective ion exchange membrane and a monovalent anion selective exchange membrane for circulation (continuous, continuous partial circulation, or batch circulation) process. Lithium carbonate is precipitated by adding soda ash, and the resulting mother liquor can be recycled. This method is suitable for separating lithium from magnesium and other ions in brines with relatively high magnesium and lithium content. However, its process requires raw materials with a salt content of less than 100 grams per liter compared to light brine, otherwise it will result in poor separation efficiency and significantly increased costs. The characteristics of this process are simple setup, easy operation, and no environmental pollution, but the separation efficiency is not high and the membrane service life is short.

The electrodialysis method concentrates lithium in magnesium lithium salt lake brine or salt field sun dried concentrated brine through one or more stages of electrodialysis, using a monovalent cation selective ion exchange membrane and a monovalent anion selective ion exchange membrane for cyclic process concentration of lithium, and adding soda ash to precipitate lithium carbonate. The resulting mother liquor can be recycled.

Dongtai Lithium Resources Company and Qinghai Lithium Industry (Dongtai Jinnaer Salt Lake) adopt electrodialysis and nanofiltration membrane.

Dongtai Salt Lake is the salt lake with the highest lithium concentration in Qinghai, with a confirmed exploitable reserve of 2.44 million tons of LCE. The average lithium concentration in brine exceeds 0.4g/L, and potassium exceeds 10g/L. It supports a sustained exploitable scale of producing 40000 tons of lithium carbonate annually.

The lithium resource company plans a production capacity of 20000 tons, and the first production line (10000 tons) will be put into operation in 2018. The second 10000 ton production line is expected to start before 2020, and the third 10000 ton production line is expected to start after 2020. The future potential for lithium extraction in Dongtai Salt Lake mainly comes from lithium resource companies.

The company purchased ion membrane exchange technology from the Salt Lake Institute and used nanofiltration membrane on the basis of electrodialysis. The main method is to separate lithium ions and chloride ions through anode and cathode electrodes using ion membrane exchange technology (from 5g/L to 15g/L) to obtain lithium chloride solution. The back-end is then separately purified and concentrated to 30g/L, and finally precipitation method is used to produce battery grade lithium carbonate.

The first phase of a 10000 ton lithium carbonate factory has an investment cost of approximately 400 million yuan. The investment in supporting facilities such as peripheral power plants is relatively high, and the lithium carbonate factory itself requires an investment of about 278 million yuan. The membrane loss rate is around 5% per year.

Nanofiltration membrane separation method

Membrane separation technology has the functions of separation, concentration, purification, and refinement, as well as high efficiency, energy saving, environmental protection, molecular level filtration, and simple and easy to control filtration processes. Among them, nanofiltration membrane separation technology is a new type of membrane separation technology that has been extensively developed and researched both domestically and internationally in recent years.

The main technology using nanofiltration membrane+reverse osmosis membrane is Hengxinrong.

The company is engaged in the development and utilization of lithium resources in the Xitaijiner Salt Lake. The old brine is purchased from CITIC Guoan, and the price fluctuates seasonally. On November 9, 2017, the company's annual production of 20000 tons of battery grade lithium carbonate was officially completed and put into operation. The main product is industrial grade lithium carbonate (99.2%). Currently, it has the ability to extract battery grade lithium carbonate, but the impurity problem still needs to be further solved. The backend will process the impurities, and battery grade products will gradually come up, mainly considering the issues of processing cost and time cost. Future production may continue to increase. The current production capacity is 20 tons per day, and it is expected to reach production soon. It may reach 30000 tons or more next year. The current production capacity is 20 tons per day, and it is expected to reach production soon. The future production capacity can reach over 30000 tons.

In addition, there is also the Minmetals Salt Lake (Yiliping Salt Lake).

The area of Yiliping Salt Lake is approximately 422.7 square kilometers, located in the central part of the Qaidam Basin, and belongs to the dry salt lake type. Mineral resources include brine resources and solid salt resources, mainly brine resources. Brine resources are intergranular brine, without lake surface brine. Solid salt mineral resources include rock salt, saltpeter, gypsum, white sodium magnesium aluminate, and potassium salt. At present, the proven resource reserves contain 1.7995 million tons of lithium chloride, 918000 tons of boron oxide, 16.805 million tons of potassium chloride, 47.141 million tons of magnesium chloride, and 2.977 billion tons of sodium chloride. The magnesium lithium ratio of Yiliping Salt Lake is as high as 100:1, making it a highly difficult to develop brine with a high magnesium lithium ratio.

The initial project product plan and scale of the company are an annual production of 10000 tons of lithium carbonate, 300000 tons of potassium chloride, 10000 tons of boric acid, and supporting soda ash project, with a salt field of 39.5 square kilometers. The salt field construction has been completed and lithium carbonate production is currently underway.

The company has developed a new lithium extraction method based on the patented technology of "multi-stage lithium ion concentration" from Freiberg University of Technology in Germany, in collaboration with the Salt Lake Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, to overcome high magnesium lithium ratios. The magnesium lithium ratio in salt lakes is high, and the nanofiltration membrane method is used to directly separate magnesium through the membrane. After separation, the lithium concentration can reach 2-5 g/L. The pilot scale has separated magnesium and lithium through nanofiltration membranes. The total investment of the project is 4.6 billion yuan.

However, the actual amount of lithium extracted from salt lakes in the future still needs to be continuously observed, and there are still some variables that may affect future development:

Firstly, it is the supply capacity of brine that determines the supply ceiling of Qinghai Salt Lake.

The preparation of brine generally requires a cycle of about 8 to 10 months. At present, the enterprises that carry out lithium extraction from salt lakes in Qinghai are often chemical enterprises, which have the capacity to extract potassium from salt lakes and produce potassium fertilizer. So lithium extraction is often done after the potassium extraction process. The raw materials for lithium extraction are often the old brine produced after potassium extraction in the chemical industry (so the low cost is directly related to the fact that the raw materials are not priced or priced lower). The concentrated brine that meets the requirements for potassium extraction needs to be prepared in a drying tank for 8-10 months.

Considering the overall project economy, the ratio of potassium to lithium production capacity is around 30:1. Taking into account the overall economic benefits of the project, Qinghai Salt Lake enterprises often consider factors such as resource endowment, potassium fertilizer, and lithium carbonate price prospects when considering the production capacity of lithium carbonate projects. Generally, the production capacity ratio is set at 30:1, which indirectly constrains the ceiling of lithium carbonate production in salt lakes. According to calculations, the total lithium salt production capacity that can be supported by the old brine in Qinghai Salt Lake is currently around 120000 to 150000 tons of LCE.

Secondly, the large-scale replication of mature technologies requires consideration of two potential conditions.

The mature technology of high magnesium lithium ratio and low lithium concentration brine conditions is replicated in salt lakes with low magnesium lithium ratio and high lithium concentration brine conditions. According to the adsorption and extraction methods currently used in Cha'erhan and Dachaidan, which have high magnesium lithium ratios, if they are transferred to the East West Taiwan technology, the theoretical probability of achieving this is relatively high. However, the replication of this model did not take into account the impact of different impurities in the brine on lithium carbonate products (especially for battery grade products with higher requirements). Reproducibility in a brine like environment within the same salt lake. If different companies adopt the same technological route in the same salt lake, the success or failure depends on their own technological and financial strength. For example, the lithium carbonate project currently being promoted by Zangge Holdings is located in the Cha'erhan Salt Lake, with similar sources of brine (brine after potassium extraction) and the same technical route (Zangge uses adsorption method, with adsorption materials provided by Lanxiao Technology; in cooperation with Qidi Qingyuan for impurity removal).

In addition to these major issues that need to be observed, there are also several risks that are worth paying attention to.

One is the impact of climate fluctuations. Most salt lake areas in China do not meet the special geographical conditions of drought, low rainfall, long sunshine hours, and high annual evaporation, while the supply of brine depends on climatic conditions.

The second is the intensification of industry competition. The lithium battery industry chain has attracted market attention, with a large number of enterprises entering and the pace of capacity investment and construction greatly accelerating. The overall risk of overcapacity in the industry has become prominent; In addition, with policy subsidies decreasing, companies are likely to face intensified competition and squeezed profit margins in the future.

Thirdly, the progress of promoting new energy vehicles is not as expected. The sales of new energy vehicles are closely related to the demand for lithium resources, and the growth of new energy vehicle consumption has become an important factor driving the growth of lithium resource demand. The high growth rate of consumption of new energy vehicles in recent years is largely due to government policy support, and the growth of new energy vehicle sales will face obstacles in the coming years after the policy recedes. There are also the following factors that will affect future sales of new energy vehicles:

At present, the range, cost-effectiveness, and safety reliability of new energy vehicles have not met consumers' psychological expectations. Moreover, there are numerous models of charging equipment, making it difficult to achieve interconnectivity between vehicles of different brands and models and charging devices. The overall slow progress of charging infrastructure construction and the need to improve the consumer service system are also constraining the further promotion of new energy vehicles.

The fourth is the risk of lithium carbonate price fluctuations. In the first half of the year, the price of industrial grade lithium carbonate fluctuated between 120000 and 160000 yuan/ton, a decrease of 21.05%. The price of battery grade lithium carbonate fluctuated between 130000 and 180000 yuan/ton, a decrease of 24.42%. The price of lithium hydroxide fluctuated between 140000 and 158000 yuan/ton, a decrease of 8.50%. At the beginning of the year, the high price of lithium carbonate pushed upstream suppliers to release production capacity. However, in March, the production of lithium extraction enterprises in Qinghai Salt Lake began to release. Coupled with the uncertainty of subsidy policies in the first half of the year, positive electrode material factories remained cautious and actively removed inventory. As a result, the overall supply of lithium carbonate in the market slightly exceeded demand, leading to a price correction.

Finally, there is a revolution in the technological roadmap of new energy power batteries. At present, lithium-ion power batteries are widely used in new energy vehicles, with the main positive electrode materials being lithium iron phosphate, ternary batteries, etc. If future power batteries make breakthroughs in a short period of time and bypass the lithium route, it will overturn the current industrial logic and bring risks.

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