Operating conditions for lithium recovery from natural brines

Lithium recovery from natural brine incontestably requires the optimization of the parameters which influence such a process. This process consists of trapping lithium ions by a gel of aluminum hydroxide prepared under the action of a strong base. Studied parameters are molar ratio Al]/Li], stirring time, reaction temperature and apparent pH. A systematic study was carried out varying only one parameter at a time. This procedure makes it possible to fix the studied parameters in order to recover maximum Li⁺. This work is done first on synthetic brines, and then it was considered convenient to check the obtained result using natural brine and an equivalent synthetic brine. Some differences related to lithium yield are established between the two considered brines. This is due in our opinion to the impurities contained in the natural brine, especially magnesium and boron.