Resources Policy 83 (2023) 103572

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Resources Policy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/resourpol

Technological tendencies for lithium production from salt lake brines:

Progress and research gaps to move towards more sustainable processes
Diego Fuentealba a, Cherie Flores-Fernández b, Elizabeth Troncoso c, d, **, Humberto Estay e, *
a
Department of Informatics and Computing, Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana, José Pedro Alessandri 1242, Santiago, Chile
b
Department Information Management, Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana, Dr. Hernán Alessandri 722, Santiago, Chile
c
Department of Chemistry, Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana, Las Palmeras 3360, Ñuñoa, Santiago, Chile
d
Programa Institucional de Fomento a la Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación, Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana, Ignacio Valdivieso 2409, San Joaquín,
Santiago, Chile
e
Advanced Mining Technology Center (AMTC), University of Chile, Av. Tupper 2007 (AMTC Building), Santiago, Chile

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Lithium is a crucial element for the energy transition; therefore, the demand projections will increase drastically
Lithium extraction in the short and medium term. Almost 48% of the current Li production worldwide comes from salt lake brines
Salt lake brines sources, where the brine processing considers an evaporation ponds stage which losses around 90% of the water
Direct lithium extraction processes
contained in brine to the atmosphere. This method causes concerns about the potential impact on salt lake water
Lithium brine concentration processes
balance and biodiversity, promoting interest in new alternatives to replace the evaporative way. However, the
Technological tendencies
Salt lake impacts tendencies, focus of studies, and holistic analysis of the potential impacts of these technologies still require
further discussion. This work provides an overview of state-of-the-art technological tendencies of alternative
processes to treat Li-rich brines based on bibliometrics, content analyses, and a literature review. Direct lithium
extraction (DLE) processes have drawn the attention of researchers and technology companies due to their high
Li extraction efficiency. Besides, recent works have started to study lithium brine concentration (LBC) methods,
which can synergically complement the performance of DLE processes. However, any technological alternative
should assess the impact on each salt lake in designing future processes. In this regard, the availability of public
information about performance results of technological companies and lithium producers, overall assessment of
processing options including carbon and water scarcity footprint, and studies evaluating the effect of returning
spent brine into the salt lake are issues that need to be settled. Thus, future definitions and studies must consider
a holistic analysis integrating DLE and LBC methods.

1. Introduction (González and Cantallopts, 2021).

Therefore, the efforts to supply the lithium demand could be insuf­
Lithium is the current key element for Li-ion batteries (LIB) used in ficient in 2028 and be more critical if the projects considered in the
electric vehicles (EVs), which are one of the bases for the successful estimation have any problems or delay.
energy transition from fossil sources to renewable sources. The market On the other hand, 48% of the current LCE production is generated
penetration of EVs at a global level is expected to increase from 4% in from salt lake brines, mainly 40% from Chile and Argentina (González
2020 to 31% in 2030 for total automobile sales (González and Can­ and Cantallopts, 2021). Furthermore, lithium resources in Chile, Bolivia,
tallopts, 2021). This context determines a lithium demand forecast of 2, and Argentina reach almost 58% of the total lithium resources (Cabello,
114 kt of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) per year in 2030, 2021; USGS, 2021). Therefore, the “lithium triangle” countries are
increasing by around 550% compared with the LCE demand in 2020. relevant to support the production increment required in the short and
Even though the LCE production forecast suggests an increase from 384 medium term (Yang et al., 2021; Zhou et al., 2022).
kt/y in 2020 to 1,637 kt/y in 2030, these estimations show a gap be­ In this context, the relevance of the “lithium triangle” countries to
tween the LCE demand and the production in 2028–2030 (see Fig. 1) sustain lithium production in the coming years for supporting the energy

* Corresponding author.
** Corresponding author. Department of Chemistry, Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana, Las Palmeras 3360, Ñuñoa, Santiago, Chile.
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (E. Troncoso), [email protected] (H. Estay).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2023.103572
Received 28 January 2023; Received in revised form 19 March 2023; Accepted 8 April 2023
Available online 22 April 2023
0301-4207/© 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
D. Fuentealba et al. Resources Policy 83 (2023) 103572

transition is undeniable. Nevertheless, there are several challenges in 2. Overview of technological tendencies for lithium brine
terms of regulations in Argentina (López-Steinmetz and Fong, 2019; processing
Obaya et al., 2021) and Chile (Senado Chileno, 2022) to operate the
current evaporative lithium processing method, as well as consequent Firstly, conventional lithium brine processing considers a stage of Li
problems with the potential impact on the environment (Petavratzi concentration using solar evaporation ponds, where different salts are
et al., 2022), endemic biodiversity (Bonelli and Dorador, 2021), local precipitated due to the water removal (Fig. 2). This stage allows the
communities (Jerez et al., 2021), and governance (Barandiarán, 2019; removal of the main impurities for the final Li products, such as Na, K,
Díaz-Paz et al., 2023). Lithium in salt lakes is contained in brines (i.e., and a fraction of Mg. This step is designed to achieve Li concentration up
aqueous solutions with high contents of dissolved salts, such as NaCl, to 6% wt, although in some cases the set Li concentration is lower ac­
KCl, LiCl, and MgCl2). These brines are processed to produce LCE in cording to the impurities content in the brine. This brine feeds the final
different unit operations. The following section shows that the current processing plant, producing lithium carbonate and hydroxide (Garret,
processing method to produce lithium from salt lake brines considers the 2004; Tran and Luong, 2015; Swain, 2017).
loss of around 85–95% of the water contained in brines from evapora­ As was mentioned earlier, this process loses 85–95% of the water
tion ponds (Flexer et al., 2018), equivalent to 200-1,400 m3 of water per contained in brines from evaporation ponds (Flexer et al., 2018),
ton of Li contained in the extracted brine (Cerda et al., 2021). This sit­ equivalent to 200–1,400 m3 of water per ton of Li contained in the
uation has occurred in dry locations affected by the global context of extracted brine (Cerda et al., 2021). Chilean Li production is conducted
water scarcity, increasing the tension between communities and lithium in the Atacama salt lake, one of the driest places on Earth
companies in the last years (Liu and Agusdinata, 2020). Therefore, the (Álvarez-Amado et al., 2022). These facts concern local communities
current scenario of lithium production in the “lithium triangle” presents regarding the possible consequences on the water balance of the salt lake
several risks that could affect the worldwide lithium supply in the and its downstream impacts, such as aquifers and wetlands
following years. (Barandiarán, 2019; Liu and Agusdinata, 2020; Bustos-Gallardo et al.,
Although the works mentioned above have covered the social and 2021). It is relevant to mention that lithium processing also uses fresh
environmental impacts of evaporative processing for lithium production water extracted from surface water sources. This type of water is typi­
(Barandiarán, 2019; Liu and Agusdinata, 2020; Bonelli and Dorador, cally considered to quantify the freshwater consumption of the process
2021; Petavratzi et al., 2022; Díaz-Paz et al., 2023), further studies still (water make-up) instead of the water loss from brines induced by
need to analyze the tendencies of technology development from a ho­ evaporation.
listic point of view, focused on replacing this method. This work de­ Different process alternatives developed by researchers and com­
scribes the technological trends under study for processing Li-rich panies aim to avoid water loss from brines to the atmosphere (Liu et al.,
brines, supported by bibliometric and content analyses of scholarly 2019). Fig. 3 shows several options studied and classified by their pri­
output between 2011 and 2022. The main trends and options classifi­ mary objective. This classification is proposed in this study to highlight
cation based on their main characteristics, advantages, drawbacks, op­ the key differences of each technological option, avoiding a general
portunities, and future approaches are discussed. Also, the potential classification that can promote confusion about the purposes. The direct
impacts on the environment and particular considerations that should be lithium extraction (DLE) processes focus on the selective extraction of
considered in future regulations and environmental permissions related lithium from the brine, where further stages will produce final lithium
to these new technologies are analyzed. products. That means that these types of technologies aim at efficient
separation or removal of Li from the brine. In turn, the lithium brine

Fig. 1. Forecast of LCE production (a) and demand (b) (kt LCE/y) between 2020 and 2030 by type of (a) operation and (b) compound. Adapted from González and
Cantallopts (2021).

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D. Fuentealba et al. Resources Policy 83 (2023) 103572

Fig. 2. Conventional process to concentrate and purify lithium brines, based on evaporation ponds. Adapted from Cerda et al. (2021).

Fig. 3. Classification of alternatives for lithium brine processing.

concentration (LBC) processes attempt to concentrate the lithium brine scarcity footprint (Schenker et al., 2022). Each process option defined in
(without separating the Li from the brine), removing impurities to Fig. 3 is described and schematized in Table 1, considering the most
generate final lithium products in further stages. In this regard, LBC relevant studies in each case.
processes have a similar aim to the evaporation ponds but recovering
water or avoiding its loss. In both cases, the main goal is avoiding the 3. Data and methods
loss of water contained in the brine. However, both technological clas­
sifications have different definitions of brine management and their An analysis of scientific literature on lithium production from brines
relationship with the salt lake. While DLE processes suppose that 100% indexed in the Scopus reference database was conducted. Data queries
of the brine processed can be returned to the salt lake, the LBC processes were performed on May 24, 2022. The keywords used for data collection
can return a fraction of the spent brine into the salt lake, and some of were lithium and brine, applied in the database’s search field Article
those can produce freshwater (e.g., membrane distillation or membrane Title, Abstract and Keywords, using the strategy search: TITLE-ABS-KEY
crystallization) (Fig. 4). Conventional lithium processes from brines (lithium AND brine). As a result, 1170 documents were obtained. Then,
typically return around 15%–20% of the spent brine into the salt lake inclusion/exclusion criteria were applied. In the first phase, a temporal
(SQM, 2022). Nevertheless, no studies support the assumption that DLE filter was applied, considering those documents published between
processes have the technical feasibility to return 100% of the spent brine 2011 and 2022, reducing the results to 937. A documentary typology
into the salt lake (Flexer et al., 2018). On the one hand, DLE methods criterion was employed in the second phase, including articles, confer­
have processing times lower than those required for the salt lake to ence papers, and reviews. This criterion reduced the results to 907,
evaporate and infiltrate the brine, which could impact the surface water corresponding to the total number of documents used for further anal­
balance and potential generation of natural saline ponds, among others. ysis. The period 2011–2022 was chosen considering that for the search
On the other hand, they can affect the required quality of returned spent criteria applied in the bibliometric analysis and the year of data
brine in terms of its chemical composition. Besides, DLE processes collection (2022), it was obtained that 82% of the scholarly output of the
require a higher freshwater consumption compared with the conven­ Scopus database was focused on that period. Before (1957–2010), this
tional evaporation ponds method. This fact, combined with the inherent metric only reached 18%, with an annual scholarly output below 20
dry weather of salt-lake locations, could amplify the impacts on water publications.

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D. Fuentealba et al. Resources Policy 83 (2023) 103572

Fig. 4. Brine management options for DLE (a) and LBC processes (b).

Bibliometric indicators are statistical data calculated from the document’s keywords and abstracts described the lithium process more
bibliographic characteristics observed in scientific publications, which accurately than the titles. Thus, this work constructed an LDA model
enable the study and analysis of various features of scientific activity, based on keywords and another LDA model based on pre-processed
linked both to scientific quality or perception, production, circulation, abstracts. The model-tuning stage removed stopwords, punctuation,
and dispersion, as well as to the consumption of information (Flores and non-ASCII symbols to assess several models. Around 1500 config­
et al., 2021). Thus, the selected documents were analyzed using eight urations of hyperparameters were assessed in 50 topics to evaluate the
bibliometric indicators: scholarly output, journal productivity, citations, coherence index for each abstract and keyword set. This stage concluded
author productivity, co-occurrence of author and index keywords, that the topics found based on keywords’ models provided more infor­
country productivity, and collaboration. Additionally, the data visuali­ mation about the lithium process, so it was analyzed and discussed these
zation tool VOSviewer was used to conduct keyword co-occurrence and topics.
countries collaboration analyses.
In addition, this work used content analysis to process unstructured 4. Results and discussion
data, such as keywords or abstracts, to find patterns between documents
(Madani and Weber, 2016). Text mining techniques can analyze docu­ The bibliometric analysis performed allowed identifying how it has
ments through word repetition to summarize the data in word clouds or been the evolution of scientific production on lithium and brine studies
thematic maps (Baraibar-Diez et al., 2020; Herrera-Viedma et al., 2020). in the period 2011–2022. Fig. 5 shows that the number of publications
However, the predominant model is the Latent Dirichlet Allocation before 2016 was below 50 documents but with an ever-increasing ten­
(LDA) because it also identifies topics (Chen et al., 2021; Nie and Sun, dency. However, the year 2016 experienced a substantive increase until
2017). One of the main problems in the bibliometric analysis is finding 2021. Only 2022 shows a decrease in the number of publications due to
the number of clusters or topics. Some works validate the number of k the data collection date (May 2022). This sustained growth of scientific
topics with experts (Tran et al., 2019) or pre-studies with different data publications since 2016 may be explained by various public policies and
(Sokil and Osorio, 2022). For this reason, this work used the coherence international treaties that have set out to combat climate change and
index to define a group number along with the LDA model’s parameters promote greener technologies in the transportation, electric power, and
(Ding et al., 2018). Fig. S1 (supplementary material) shows the topic manufacturing sectors (Tabelin et al., 2021). Since the Kyoto Protocol
analysis process, which starts with the database search to select a paper entered into force on February 2005, limits to reduce industrialized
list. Then the document’s features, such as titles, abstracts, and key­ countries’ Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions were established (Metz,
words, were analyzed to explore potential sources to construct a model. 2013). Nevertheless, the Paris Agreement (2015) and the 2030 Agenda
The observation of word frequency and data missing decided which for Sustainable Development (2015) produced strong linkages between
features were more representative. This initial analysis showed that the climate change and industrial and societal development

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D. Fuentealba et al. Resources Policy 83 (2023) 103572

Table 1
Classification and general definition of alternative processes for lithium brine processing.
Classification Alternative process Schematic representation Definition References

DLE Adsorption A solid material can selectively capture Li from the Chung et al. (2017); Wang et al.
aqueous phase. Li must be eluted from the solid by (2018); Liu et al. (2019); Sun et al.
specific reagents (typically HCl). (2019);
Ion exchange A solid material (e.g., resin) can change cations from Liu et al. (2019); Zhang et al. (2019)
its chemical structure to link with Li-ion. Like
adsorption, Li must be eluted from the resin by
specific reagents.

Solvent extraction A liquid phase, typically organic, contains a reagent Xiang et al. (2016); Xiang et al.
called extractant and can form a chemical complex (2017); Zhang et al. (2018); Liu
with Li-ion, extracting from an aqueous phase. A et al. (2019); Shi et al. (2019)
stripping stage is required to remove Li from the
organic phase.

Precipitation Chemical reaction where a reagent can form a Li Li et al. (2018); Liu et al. (2018);
solid phase, typically with low solubility. Tian et al. (2019); Zhao et al. (2019)

Electrochemical An electric potential gradient is used to promote the Missoni et al. (2016); Zhao et al.
transference of Li from the brine bulk into an (2017); Acosta and Flexer (2018);
electrode, where a specific material links Li. Like Liu et al. (2019)
adsorption and ion exchange, a further elution stage
is required to extract Li from an electrode.

LBC Electrodialysis/ An electric potential gradient is used to promote the Liu et al. (2015); Li et al. (2019);
electromembrane transference of cations and anions to the electrodes. Díaz-Nieto et al. (2020); Torres et al.
Ion exchange membranes are used to separate (2020); Zhang et al. (2020);
cations and anions to generate a purified Li brine. Díaz-Nieto and Flexer (2022)
This system has also been studied, integrating with
precipitation to remove impurities from brine.

Nanofiltration A polymeric hydrophilic membrane that separates Somrani et al. (2013); Sun et al.
monovalent and divalent ions is used to produce a (2015); Li et al. (2019); Pramanik
concentrated permeate of Li brine. The driving force et al. (2019); Park et al. (2020);
of this process is transmembrane pressure. This Zhang et al. (2020)
process has been studied to separate Li+ from Mg2+.

Membrane A polymeric hydrophobic membrane separates the Pramanik et al. (2019); Park et al.
distillation Li brine from an aqueous phase or air. The heat of (2020)
the brine to temperatures higher than 35 ◦ C allows
the water transfer in the form of vapor to the other
phase across the membrane pores, recovering the
water and concentrating the brine. The driving force
of this process is the partial pressure gradient of
water.
Membrane Like membrane distillation but includes the Cerda et al. (2021); Quilaqueo et al.
crystallization possibility of concentrating the brine up to a (2022)
supersaturation condition, where crystals are
formed on the brine side. The flow velocity allows
the continuous removal of crystals.

(continued on next page)

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D. Fuentealba et al. Resources Policy 83 (2023) 103572

Table 1 (continued )
Classification Alternative process Schematic representation Definition References

Evaporated water A system specifically designed to recover the Baspineiro et al. (2021)
recovery evaporated water from the solar evaporation ponds
as a condensate, for instance, a double-slope solar
still system.

Hydrate formation A reagent able to be hydrated with water is used to Ling et al. (2020)
concentrate the Li brine by the link between water
and the specific reagent, e.g., cyclopentane.

A topic evolution analysis of the authors’ keywords complemented

the previous findings to identify repeated and linked keywords through
time (Fig. 6). This analysis shows a keyword increase in the timespan
between 2015 and 2017, where several concepts, such as lithium
adsorption, lithium ion-sieve, lithium recovery, adsorption, and nano­
filtration, evolved into lithium extraction in the last four years
(2018–2022). Repeated keywords are difficult to find, so an increment is
important. For instance, “lithium extraction” was repeated only in six
papers in the first two periods, but it increased to 55 in the last one. This
finding implies that lithium extraction is an issue that has increased the
interest of scientific efforts in the last years, supported by previous
research on lithium and brine with diverse approaches. The above is
relevant because it provides a basis for analyzing and developing current
and future technological tendencies for lithium production from brines.
The journal productivity analysis demonstrates that 160 journals
published the documents. Thirty-one have only a document on the
subject, while 15 journals have published more than ten documents in
Fig. 5. Evolution of the number of publications on lithium and brine studies the area (see Supplementary Material, Table S1). The top sources listed
per year 237 from 2011 to 2022, as identified by Scopus. in Table S1 indicate the dominance of the journal Hydrometallurgy (49
documents), followed by Separation and Purification Technology (n =
(Gomez-Echeverri, 2018; McCollum et al., 2018). These achievements 46) and Desalination (n = 40). It is highlighted that the main Scopus
have promoted the development of energy systems for deep and rapid subject areas and categories for the 15 journals are: (i) Environmental
decarbonization of modern society, which has renewed interest in Science (Environmental Chemistry; Pollution), (ii) Chemical Engineer­
lithium for electromobility strategies and renewable energy storage ing (miscellaneous), (iii) Chemistry (miscellaneous), and (iv) Engi­
systems (Tabelin et al., 2021). neering (Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering). This means that

Fig. 6. Topic evolution of author’s keywords.

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D. Fuentealba et al. Resources Policy 83 (2023) 103572

studies focused on lithium production/extraction are gathering research fact, five authors show scholarly output in solvent extraction, five in
efforts from different disciplinary fields. Indeed, the technological focus adsorption/ion exchange, one in electrochemical processes, and one
of numerous studies is driven by the environmental context of the en­ author is related to nanofiltration/membranes. The other eight authors
ergy transition and by the challenges described previously about water cannot be associated with a specific field according to the analysis of the
loss in the current evaporation process of lithium processing from brines. keywords. However, an in-depth review of their articles establishes a
Consequently, journals with different scopes and coming from different concrete relation between each author and a research field. There are
foundational disciplines (e.g. Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and four authors related to electrochemical, electrolysis or electrodialysis
Geology) have focused efforts to disseminate and contribute to gener­ processes, two authors are involved with nanofiltration/membranes,
ating knowledge in lithium and brine studies. The above demonstrates one author is associated with adsorption/ion exchange, and one author
that the processing of lithium brines involves aspects of process engi­ is related to solvent extraction. These findings focus on developing DLE
neering, hydrogeology, geochemistry, environment, and energy, so a processes, such as adsorption/ion exchange, solvent extraction, and
multidisciplinary view is expected but also necessary. electrochemical methods. However, three authors are involved with
On the other hand, the bibliometric analysis applied is a useful tool to nanofiltration as the first LBC process of interest. Recent options for LBC
understand better the evolution of the research on the technological processes, such as membrane distillation, membrane crystallization, or
tendencies for lithium production from salt lake brines. In this way, it is hydrate formation, are still embryonic. From this analysis, the main
relevant to identify those studies that have supported new tendencies finding is that the top-20 most prolific authors are focused on developing
based on gaps or problems or set a basis for future knowledge devel­ new technologies for replacing the conventional evaporative method
opment within the field of study of interest here. These studies have instead of optimizing it.
given critical and constructive views to address future research, mainly A keyword co-occurrence analysis using VOSviewer software was
focused on the following topics: lithium recovery/recycling, lithium conducted to identify the main thematic areas and topics of the studied
resources, and new processes for lithium production. The top-10 cited scientific production (Fig. 7). This analysis included the authors’ key­
documents related to lithium and brine studies are shown in Table 2. words and Scopus index. The minimum threshold for co-ocurrence was
60% (6 out of 10 documents) were review articles, which could explain five. Only 448 keywords met this criterion. The normalization method
its higher citations than research articles. Three review articles describe applied was the strength of association, establishing seven clusters, with
the current and conventional routes of lithium production from brines a minimum of 31 and a maximum of 108 keywords: Cluster 1 (n = 108),
and ores (Swain, 2017, Meshram et al., 2014 and Choubey et al., 2016). Cluster 2 (n = 103), Cluster 3 (n = 70), Cluster 4 (n = 58), Cluster 5 (n =
In addition, there are three research articles focused on alternative 46), Cluster 6 (n = 32) and Cluster 7 (n = 31). The ten keywords with the
processes of lithium production from brine processing, such as precipi­ highest number of occurrences were: lithium (n = 571), lithium com­
tation (An et al., 2012), nanofiltration (Somrani et al., 2013), and pounds (n = 239), brine (n = 207), extraction (n = 190), lakes (n = 138),
adsorption using a metal-organic framework (Guo et al., 2016). These ions (n = 131), lithium extraction (n = 130), recovery (n = 118),
three research articles were published before or in 2016, when the adsorption (n = 106), and chlorine compounds (n = 104). This ranking
number of published articles started to increase. Therefore, their impact agrees with the top-cited author results (Table S2), where the interest in
on recent studies agrees with the topic’s novelty before 2016. DLE processes, particularly the adsorption method, has been higher than
Table S2 shows the analyses of the top-20 most prolific authors, other methods. Other keywords related to DLE methods can be observed
based on their productivity records for studies related to lithium and in Fig. 7, such as ion exchange and electrochemical extraction, both
brines, and including an analysis of their top 10 keywords. It was found topics of interest to top authors (Table S2).
that 12 authors are directly associated with DLE or LBC processes. In On the other hand, from 2011 to 2022 a total of 60 countries have

Table 2
Top-10 cited documents concerning lithium and brine studies (2011–2022), as identified by Scopus.
# Document title Authors Year Source Citations Document
type

1 Recovery and recycling of lithium: A review Swain, B. 2017 Separation and Purification 638 Review
Technology
2 Global lithium resources: Relative importance of Kesler, S.E., Gruber, P.W., Medina, P. 2012 Ore Geology Reviews 467 Review
pegmatite, brine and other deposits A., Keoleian, G.A., Everson, M.P.,
Wallington, T.J.
3 Extraction of lithium from primary and secondary Meshram, P., Pandey, B.D., 2014 Hydrometallurgy 445 Review
sources by pre-treatment, leaching and separation: A Mankhand, T.R.
comprehensive review
4 Assessment of world lithium resources and Grosjean, C., Herrera Miranda, P., 2012 Renewable and Sustainable Energy 402 Review
consequences of their geographic distribution on the Perrin, M., Poggi, P. Reviews
expected development of the electric vehicle industry
5 Geochemical evidence for possible natural migration Warner, N.R., Jackson, R.B., Darrah, 2012 Proceedings of the National 401 Article
of Marcellus Formation brine to shallow aquifers in T.H., Osborn, S.G., Down, A., Zhao, K., Academy of Sciences of the United
Pennsylvania White, A., Vengosh, A. States of America
6 Advance review on the exploitation of the prominent Choubey, P.K., Kim, M.-S., Srivastava, 2016 Minerals Engineering 247 Review
energy-storage element: Lithium. Part I: From mineral R.R., Lee, J.-C., Lee, J.-Y.
and brine resources
7 Recovery of lithium from Uyuni salar brine An, J.W., Kang, D.J., Tran, K.T., Kim, 2012 Hydrometallurgy 247 Article
M.J., Lim, T., Tran, T.
8 Study on lithium separation from salt lake brines by Somrani, A., Hamzaoui, A.H., Pontie, 2013 Desalination 195 Article
nanofiltration (NF) and low pressure reverse osmosis M.
(LPRO)
9 The future of lithium availability for electric vehicle Speirs, J., Contestabile, M., Houari, Y., 2014 Renewable and Sustainable Energy 191 Review
batteries Gross, R. Reviews
10 Polystyrene sulfonate threaded through a Guo, Y., Ying, Y., Mao, Y., Peng, X., 2016 Angewandte Chemie - International 189 Article
metal–organic framework membrane for fast and Chen, B. Edition
selective lithium-ion separation

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Fig. 7. Co-ocurrence author keywords network. Source: Developed by the authors using VOSviewer.

published documents on lithium and brine studies. Eighteen countries classified in Fig. 3 and Table 1 agree with the methods studied and
have one record, while another 18 have ten or more publications. proposed in the literature, where adsorption and other DLE processes are
Table S3 shows the top-10 most prolific countries, where China and the dominant topics. However, these results show topics related to LBC
United States lead 57% and 13% of scientific research, respectively. This processes (membrane distillation, membrane crystallization, or even
fact agrees with both countries are Li producers from salt lake brines, but forward osmosis) that were not found in the results of Table 2, Table S2,
also it could demonstrate the efforts of both countries in ensuring the and Fig. 7. Therefore, the working tendency has been mainly focused on
supply of a critical resource for their economies. Other countries that DLE processes, but the recent studies about LBC alternatives will open
have contributed to the research topics related to lithium production new research lines.
from brines are Australia (4.6%), Chile (4.5%), Argentina (4.2%), and Following the previous analysis, the weight contributions for all
Germany (3.5%). In contrast, South Korea, France, Japan, and Russian topics demonstrate that literature studies support the process classifi­
Federation represent each ~3.0% of the world’s research. Only 27 cation proposed in this work (Fig. 3). Based on this finding, we sum­
connected countries have a minimum of five collaborative publications marize the most relevant features of each technological option,
from all countries (Fig. 8). The strength of the association establishes six compared with the conventional evaporation method, considering not
clusters, with a minimum of two and a maximum of eight countries. only the Li extraction efficiency but also the capacity to produce fresh­
These last issues demonstrate that more collaborative actions at an in­ water, freshwater requirements, and technology maturity of each pro­
ternational level are needed to advance in the new developments for cess. The selected criteria in Table 4 correspond to relevant features of
lithium processing under an approach more robust and integrative. the different processes from an environmental impact point of view. The
Table 3 shows macro-concepts proposed by the authors based on the Li extraction efficiency determines the brine extraction requirements to
processes alternative for lithium brine processing matched with the sustain a specific LCE production; therefore, the volume of water
topic keywords found by LDA Model. The LDA model was trained with evaporated in the case of evaporation ponds, or the spent brine flow
19 topics, Alpha = 0.9099 and Beta = 0.01, to obtain a coherence of required to be returned into the salt lake in the case of DLE technologies.
0.677. Each topic comprises several keywords and weights, representing In the same regard, the water loss from brines and the spent brine
the probability distribution of these words in each topic. For this reason, recycled to the salt lake impact the water balance of the salt lake basin.
it is feasible to repeat a word on several topics. Table 3 shows these On the other hand, the possibility of recovering freshwater is an inter­
weights to show their relationship with the proposed macro-concepts, esting option for generating a new water source from brines, although
where the highest the weight, the strongest their relationship. These the volume of water recovered must be defined by the water balance of
findings demonstrate that the processes alternative selected and each salt lake. Similarly, the use of freshwater in each option can impact

Fig. 8. Countries co-occurrence network from 2011 to 2022. Source: Developed by the authors using VOSviewer.

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Table 3 (Bustos-Gallardo et al., 2021), limiting Li’s current and future produc­
Family of words based on topic modeling using LDA. tion if the current method is not optimized or replaced. Thus, the option
Macro-concepts Dominant Topic keywords Weight of installing DLE processes which high Li extraction efficiency (typically
proposed by authors topic (ID)a contribution >90% at laboratory scale) (Liu et al., 2019; Zhang et al., 2023)can in­
Adsorption 2 lithium adsorbents 0,028 crease Li production without additional brine extraction.
3 lithium adsorption 0,077 Even though the DLE processes avoid water loss to the atmosphere by
7 adsorption, lithium ion- 0,331 recycling the treated brine into the salt lake, these options are not ver­
sieve, ion-sieve, satile in terms of water management because it requires the return of
adsorbent
14 desorption, ion sieve 0,100
100% of the spent brine (see Fig. 4a). As was mentioned before, there are
15 adsorption 0,027 no public studies about the potential impact of returning the 100% brine
18 adsorption 0,099 treated into the salt lake (Flexer et al., 2018). Therefore, the spent brine
Crystallization 0 crystallization path 0,028 returning into the salt lake will require a definition in terms of where
9 crystallization 0,045
(surface or injection), how (pumping wells, dispersion, among others),
Distillation 0 membrane distillation 0,038
Electrodialysis 5 electrodialysis 0,086 and how much (volume limit) to avoid possible impacts on the chemical
Ion Exchange 6 ion exchange 0,136 quality of aquifers, geotechnical effects of the salt lake, endemic biodi­
Ion Exchange 4 lithium ion 0,038 versity, and water balance impacts. In addition, each salt lake’s
Membrane/Ion 6 ion exchange, ions 0,215 geological and geochemical characteristics must be considered in these
Exchange 7 lithium ion-sieve, ion- 0,205
Membranes sieve
definitions.
12 ion-exchange 0,028 There are two commercial experiences of DLE processes reported in
13 ion selectivity 0,041 the literature. The first one operates in Argentina, in the Hombre Muerto
14 ion sieve 0,044 salt lake (Flexer et al., 2018), and the second works in China, in the
17 lithium ion, ion 0,061
Chaerhan salt lake (Schenker et al., 2022). Unfortunately, neither case
concentration
polarization has public information about the spent brine returning management.
Membrane/ 0 membrane distillation 0,038 Apparently, the Argentinian case treats a fraction of the total extracted
Membranes 3 nanofiltration 0,032 brine in the DLE stage, while the conventional evaporation pond method
membrane processes the remaining brine fraction.
5 membrane 0,031
On the other hand, the freshwater requirement of DLE processes (for
crystallization
7 membrane, membrane 0,056 elution, washing, and material regeneration) could limit the brine
extraction throughput and, therefore, the Li production, besides the necessity of
8 liquid membrane, 0,056 including a freshwater source in the process. In this context, the recent
membrane
article of Schenker et al. (2022) showed that the water freshwater
15 forward osmosis 0,057
11 membranes 0,050 consumption, energy consumption, and carbon footprint of the Chaer­
Membrane 5 membrane 0,031 han process, which comprises adsorption, nanofiltration, and reverse
crystallization crystallization osmosis, are higher than the conventional evaporative processes oper­
Membrane distillation 0 membrane distillation 0,038 ating in Chile and Argentina. Particularly, the freshwater consumption
Nanofiltration 5 nanofiltration 0,052
reported in this operation, based on DLE processes, is around 0.55 m3/kg
18 nanofiltration 0,064
Nanofiltration 3 nanofiltration 0,032 LCE, compared with less than 0.22 m3/kg LCE in Olaroz and lower than
Membrane/ membrane 0.1 m3/kg LCE in Hombre Muerto, Caucharí, and Atacama. Different
Nanofiltration consumptions but with similar trends were described by Vera and col­
Membranes
laborators (Vera et al., 2023), who reported that the freshwater con­
Precipitation/ 0 chemical precipitation 0,032
Chemical 12 precipitation 0,074
sumption of the conventional evaporation ponds is around 0.023 m3/kg
precipitation 5 lithium iron phosphate 0,025 LCE and 0.05 m3/kg LCE for Atacama salt lake and Olaroz salt lake,
Solvent extraction 0 solvent extraction 0,040 respectively. In this study, an overall freshwater consumption of 0.071
5 ionic liquids 0,068 m3/kg LCE was reported in the Hombre Muerto salt lake, where a DLE
12 liquid-liquid extraction 0,039
technology is processing a fraction of the extracted brine. Considering
13 solvent extraction 0,116
17 ionic liquid 0,108 that the DLE stage of Hombre Muerto salt lake treats only a fraction of
Electrochemical 2 electrodes 0,033 the extracted brine, and the freshwater consumption of the evaporation
processes 8 membrane electrolysis 0,023 ponds could be similar to Atacama and Olaroz salt lakes, the freshwater
18 electrochemistry, 0,079
requirement by the DLE process could be twice of the conventional
electrochemical
method. Vera et al. (2023) also analyzed the freshwater requirement of
a
Each topic is made up of several words. articles studying DLE technologies, particularly ion exchange, electro­
chemical, and solvent extraction, reporting consumptions higher than
the surface sources of the same salt lake. 500,000 m3/kg LCE in a quarter of articles reviewed and similar or lower
Evaporation ponds have low lithium extraction efficiency (Flexer freshwater consumptions using evaporation ponds were found in around
et al., 2018; Zhang et al., 2023) due to the Li losses in the entrained of 40%. The remaining articles did not report values related to fresh­
moisture of crystals removed in each fractionation stage. There is no water consumption. In any case, these water requirements must be
public information about the actual efficiency value of lithium extrac­ related to the location where freshwater is extracted, which is known as
tion in the conventional process because it depends on the chemical water scarcity impacts (Schenker et al., 2022). This concept is particu­
characteristics of the feed brine, Li contents, and specific definitions of larly relevant for salt lake basins typically located in dry places.
each operation. Different sources mention Li extraction values lower Therefore, operating DLE processes under the current technological
than 50% for the current method, which is an obvious drawback of the conditions could promote additional water stress in salt lake locations.
current method’s productivity. This method also forces the extraction of These incipient public data about DLE processes’ performance is
additional brine from salt lakes to enhance Li production in the context worrying because the technological solutions proposed to replace the
of Li demand growth. The brine extraction policies of each country evaporative method could be developed considering a higher impact on
regulate further brine extraction. For instance, Chile defines the freshwater and energy consumption.
maximum net brine volumes extracted from the Atacama salt lake In addition, different technological suppliers are offering whole

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Table 4
Main features of each DLE and LBC process.
Type of Process Li extraction Water loss from Spent brine recycling Fresh water Technology Fresh water
processing efficiency brines to salt lake recovery maturity requirement

Conventional Evaporation ponds Low >85% <20% No Commercial Yes

DLE Adsorption High No Required (100%) No Commercial Yes
Ion exchange High No Required (100%) No Pilot Yes
Solvent extraction High No Required (100%) No Pilot Yes
Precipitation High Low, contained in Required (100%) No Basic/fundamental Yes
solids research
Electrochemical High No Required (100%) No Pilot Yes
LBC Electrodialysis/ High No Required (100%) No Basic/fundamental Yes
electromembrane research
Nanofiltration Not applicable No Required (100%) No Basic/fundamental Yes
research
Membrane distillation Not applicable No Required (<90%) Yes (<20%) Basic/fundamental No
research
Membrane Not applicable Low, contained in Required (<20%) Yes (<85%) Basic/fundamental No
crystallization crystals research
Evaporated water Not applicable Yes, small leakage Not required Yes (almost Basic/fundamental No
recovery 100%) research
Hydrate formation Not applicable No Required (<30%) Yes (<80%) Basic/fundamental No
research

process solutions mainly based on DLE options, such as adsorption and suppliers fixes the price. This fact determines that the public infor­
ion exchange, as Eramet (Eramet, 2023) or Geolith, , or solvent mation of Li producers about operational experiences, new projects,
extraction as Tenova-Solvay (Lipp, 2019) or Adionics (2023), among operational improvements, and others is scarce. In addition, the
others. These alternatives include nanofiltration, reverse osmosis, or technology companies of new Li extraction alternatives do not have
electrodialysis to treat the eluate or stripped solution. Even though all public results about its processes, performances, pilot plant results,
these companies declare a high technological maturity on their options water balance, freshwater requirements, or energy consumption.
and have pilot plants available, there is no public information about This lack of public information limits the possibility of society
their performance, freshwater consumption, or energy consumption. (states, communities, researchers) to critically review the current
This lack of public information limits the comparison of technological and future options of Li extraction from salt lake brines. This limi­
options and restricts any assessment of their potential impact on the salt tation will continue generating mistrust between communities and Li
lake. Besides, it is necessary to mention that the current technological companies and limit states’ possibility to discuss new policies. This
options provided by different suppliers do not consider LBC processes situation will put at risk the Li production projections (Fig. 1a),
due to their recent scientific interest and low technology maturity. This incorporating uncertainties in the efforts to limit the impacts of
fact could limit the possibilities of offering an overall technological so­ global warming.
lution that includes spent brine management or freshwater • Overall assessment of processing options. Estimating freshwater con­
consumption. sumption, energy consumption, and carbon footprint of each pro­
The integration of DLE (Fig. 4a) and LBC technologies (Fig. 4b) has cessing option must be considered to support the definition.
not yet been explored, but they could combine the advantages of DLE Performing mass and energy balances and life cycle assessments for
processes in terms of Li extraction efficiency and the benefits of LBC each option is recommended. This assessment should include the
processes in freshwater production and spent brine returning manage­ total carbon and water scarcity footprint associated with producing
ment (Cerda et al., 2021). Further studies about energy consumption critical materials/reagents used by each option (e.g., adsorbents,
and brine management will be needed to assess the potential impact on resins, extractants, solvents, and membranes). In addition, these
the environment, although this approach has inherent advantages in analyses should consider the type of energy source used and the
terms of versatility. impact on the carbon footprint, the operation location, and the
There is a crossroads between keeping the current evaporative specific impacts of each technological option depending on the local
method with its impact on biodiversity, water balance, and low Li water scarcity condition and the water consumption required by
extraction efficiency, or moving forward to new extraction methods local communities.
with higher Li extraction efficiency. The latter method can solve the • Characterization and managing of the returning spent brine into the salt
water balance issues, but have uncertainties about the freshwater and lake. The return of the spent brine into the salt lake will be necessary
energy requirements, due to the lack of public data and the necessity to to avoid impact on the water balance of a salt lake. In this context,
support studies about the management of returning spent brine into the the chemical quality of the brine that will be returned to the salt lake
salt lake. should be estimated and analyzed during the study of each option to
The deployment of new technologies for lithium processing and avoid the input of harmful elements in the ecosystem. In addition,
extraction should consider a holistic analysis, which not only includes the definition of the required and tolerable quantity of returning
the Li extraction efficiency and the water balance of the salt lake, but a spent brine by a salt lake should consider its water balance,
rigorous estimation of freshwater and energy consumption of the pro­ geotechnical aspects, and biodiversity impact.
cesses, the management and quality of the spent brine returning into the
salt lake, and the potential impact on biodiversity and near 5. Conclusions
communities.
Hence, the following issues should be considered in future studies This work analyzed the technological tendencies of alternative pro­
and the environmental policies of each Li producer country: cesses to the conventional evaporative method for lithium production
from salt lake brines. This study was based on bibliometric and content
• Availability of public information about technologies. Li is not analyses, which showed a progressive increment in the number of arti­
commercialized as a commodity, so the market competition between cles since 2016, promoted by the Paris Agreement (2015) and the 2030

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Agenda for Sustainable Development (2015). org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2023.103572.

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