Open AccessLithium carbonate sedimentation using flocculants with different ionic bases
Author(s) -
Yam Morales,
Nelson Herrera,
Kevin Pérez
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
hemijska industrija
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.147
H-Index - 19
eISSN - 2217-7426
pISSN - 0367-598X
DOI - 10.2298/hemind201128020m
Subject(s) - flocculation , sedimentation , carbonate , lithium carbonate , cationic polymerization , crystallization , lithium (medication) , chemical engineering , chemistry , sodium carbonate , mineralogy , materials science , sodium , ionic bonding , sediment , geology , metallurgy , organic chemistry , ion , medicine , paleontology , endocrinology , engineering
Lithium has become a metal of enormous interest worldwide. The extensive use of recharge-able batteries for a range of applications has pushed for rapid growth in demand for lithium carbonate. This compound is produced by crystallization, by reaction with lithium chloride (in solution) and by adding sodium carbonate. Low sedimentation rates in the evaporation pools present a problem in the crystallization process. For this reason, in this work, mineral sedimen-tation tests were carried out with the use of two flocculant types with different ionic charges. The tests were carried out at a laboratory level using different dosages for each flocculant and measurements were performed to obtain the increase in the content of solids in the sediment. The anionic flocculant had better performance as compared to that of the cationic flocculant, increasing the sedimentation rate of lithium carbonate by up to 6.5. However, similar solids contents were obtained with the use of the cationic flocculant at 3.5 times lower dosage making it the flocculant of choice regarding the economic point of view.