Synthesis of Lithium-Aluminum Layered Double Hydroxide Adsorbent from Aluminum Waste to Create a More Environmentally Friendly Process for Recovering Lithium in Brine

Salafudin Salafudin; Agus Prasetya; I Wayan Warmada; Himawan Tri Bayu Murti Petrus

doi:10.22146/ijc.97024

Synthesis of Lithium-Aluminum Layered Double Hydroxide Adsorbent from Aluminum Waste to Create a More Environmentally Friendly Process for Recovering Lithium in Brine

https://doi.org/10.22146/ijc.97024

Salafudin Salafudin⁽¹⁾, Agus Prasetya^(2*), I Wayan Warmada⁽³⁾, Himawan Tri Bayu Murti Petrus⁽⁴⁾

(1) Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Jl. Grafika No. 2, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia
(2) Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Jl. Grafika No. 2, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia; Unconventional Geo-Resources Research Group (UGRG), Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Jl. Grafika No. 2, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia
(3) Unconventional Geo-Resources Research Group (UGRG), Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Jl. Grafika No. 2, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia; Department of Geological Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Jl. Grafika No. 2, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia
(4) Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Jl. Grafika No. 2, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia; Unconventional Geo-Resources Research Group (UGRG), Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Jl. Grafika No. 2, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia
(*) Corresponding Author

Abstract

All countries pledged to strive to limit global warming. The implementation of renewable energy must be accelerated. One of the most essential components of renewable energy is lithium-ion batteries. The surging demand for lithium necessitates new technologies for direct recovery from brine. One of the most promising methods is adsorption. Because of its advantages, lithium-aluminum layered double hydroxides have started their application on a commercial scale. This research uniquely explores the synthesis of lithium adsorbent from aluminum waste, an approach that is both cost-effective and environmentally sustainable. The reaction behavior was studied, including the rate of hydrogen gas production and the co-precipitation process. The quality of the product was assessed by its adsorption capacity and characterization. The synthesis of lithium adsorbent was successfully performed through two-step processes, with the reaction kinetics studied at temperatures between 30 and 60 °C. XRD and FTIR results confirmed the adsorbent product. The adsorbent worked well for synthetic brine with 39–1350 ppm lithium concentration and adsorption capacity until 6.7 mg lithium ion per g of adsorbent. These findings contribute to the development of sustainable technologies for lithium extraction and can be applied to improve industrial lithium recovery processes.

Keywords

lithium; aluminium; waste; brine; layered double hydroxides

Full Text:

Full Text PDF

References

[1] Abbasi, K.R., Shahbaz, M., Zhang, J., Irfan, M., and Alvarado, R., 2022, Analyze the environmental sustainability factors of China: The role of fossil fuel energy and renewable energy, Renewable Energy, 187, 390–402.

[2] Salehi, M., 2022, Global water shortage and potable water safety; Today’s concern and tomorrow’s crisis, Environ. Int., 158, 106936.

[3] Razmjoo, A., Gakenia Kaigutha, L., Vaziri Rad, M.A., Marzband, M., Davarpanah, A., and Denai, M., 2021, A Technical analysis investigating energy sustainability utilizing reliable renewable energy sources to reduce CO₂ emissions in a high potential area, Renewable Energy, 164, 46–57.

[4] Huang, T.Y., Pérez-Cardona, J.R., Zhao, F., Sutherland, J.W., and Paranthaman, M.P., 2021, Life cycle assessment and techno-economic assessment of lithium recovery from geothermal brine, ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng., 9 (19), 6551–6560.

[5] Flexer, V., Baspineiro, C.F., and Galli, C.I., 2018, Lithium recovery from brines: A vital raw material for green energies with a potential environmental impact in its mining and processing, Sci. Total Environ., 639, 1188–1204.

[6] Zhang, X., Han, A., and Yang, Y., 2020, Review on the production of high-purity lithium metal, J. Mater. Chem. A, 8 (43), 22455–22466.

[7] Murphy, O., and Haji, M.N., 2022, A review of technologies for direct lithium extraction from low Li⁺ concentration aqueous solutions, Front. Chem. Eng., 4, 1008680.

[8] Tangkas, I.W.C.W.H., Sujoto, V.S.H., Astuti, W., Jenie, S.N.A., Anggara, F., Utama, A.P., Petrus, H.T.B.M., and Sutijan, S., 2023, Synthesis of titanium ion sieves and its application for lithium recovery from artificial Indonesian geothermal brine, J. Sustainable Metall., 9 (2), 613–624.

[9] Walanda, D.K., 2007, Kinetics transformation of spinel type LiMn₂O₄ into tunnel type MnO₂, Indones. J. Chem., 7 (2), 117–120.

[10] Sulistiyono, E., Lalasari, L.H., Mayangsari, W., and Prasetyo, A.B., 2018, Study of lithium extraction from brine water, Bledug Kuwu, Indonesia by the precipitation series of oxalic acid and carbonate sodium, AIP Conf. Proc., 1964, 020007.

[11] Wu, L., Li, L., Evans, S.F., Eskander, T.A., Moyer, B.A., Hu, Z., Antonick, P.J., Harrison, S., Paranthaman, M.P., Riman, R., and Navrotsky, A., 2019, Lithium aluminum-layered double hydroxide chlorides (LDH): Formation enthalpies and energetics for lithium ion capture, J. Am. Ceram. Soc., 102 (5), 2398–2404.

[12] Stringfellow, W.T., and Dobson, P.F., 2021, Technology for the recovery of lithium from geothermal brines, Energies, 14 (20), 6805.

[13] Li, X., Mo, Y., Qing, W., Shao, S., Tang, C.Y., and Li, J., 2019, Membrane-based technologies for lithium recovery from water lithium resources: A review, J. Membr. Sci., 591, 117317.

[14] Sun, Y., Yun, R., Zang, Y., Pu, M., and Xiang, X., 2019, Highly Efficient lithium recovery from pre-synthesized chlorine-ion-intercalated LiAl-layered double hydroxides via a mild solution chemistry process, Materials, 12 (12), 1968.

[15] Jiang, H., Zhang, S., Yang, Y., and Yu, J., 2020, Synergic and competitive adsorption of Li–Na–MgCl₂ onto lithium–aluminum hydroxides, Adsorption, 26 (7), 1039–1049.

[16] Graham, T.R., Hu, J.Z., Zhang, X., Dembowski, M., Jaegers, N.R., Wan, C., Bowden, M., Lipton, A.S., Felmy, A.R., Clark, S.B., Rosso, K.M., and Pearce, C.I., 2019, Unraveling gibbsite transformation pathways into LiAl-LDH in concentrated lithium hydroxide, Inorg. Chem., 58 (18), 12385–12394.

[17] Meshram, A., Jain, A., Rao, M.D., and Singh, K.K., 2019, From industrial waste to valuable products: preparation of hydrogen gas and alumina from aluminium dross, J. Mater. Cycles Waste Manage., 21 (4), 984–993.

[18] Dembowski, M., Snyder, M.M., Delegard, C.H., Reynolds, J.G., Graham, T.R., Wang, H.W., Leavy, I.I., Baum, S.R., Qafoku, O., Fountain, M.S., Rosso, K.M., Clark, S.B., and Pearce, C.I., 2019, Ion–ion interactions enhance aluminum solubility in alkaline suspensions of nano-gibbsite (α-Al(OH)₃) with sodium nitrite/nitrate, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 22 (8), 4368–4378.

[19] Supriadi, H., Trisnawati, I., Handini, T., Susilowati, S.R., Sujoto, V.S.H., Mulyono, P., and Petrus, H.T.B.M., 2023, Kinetics study of Yttrium leaching from zircon tailings using sulfuric acid, Indones. J. Chem., 23 (2), 489–498.

[20] Fadhilah, N., Muharja, M., Risanti, D.D., Wahyuono, R.A., Satrio, D., Khamil, A.I., and Fadilah, S.N., 2023, Kinetic study of the aluminum–water reaction using NaOH/NaAlO₂ catalyst for hydrogen production from aluminum cans waste, Bull. Chem. React. Eng. Catal., 18 (4), 615–626.

[21] Madhukesh, J.K., Naveen Kumar, R., Punith Gowda, R.J., Prasannakumara, B.C., Ramesh, G.K., Ijaz Khan, M., Ullah Khan, S., and Chu, Y.M., 2021, Numerical simulation of AA7072-AA7075/water-based hybrid nanofluid flow over a curved stretching sheet with Newtonian heating: A non-Fourier heat flux model approach, J. Mol. Liq., 335, 116103.

[22] Mezulis, A., Richter, C., Lesnicenoks, P., Knoks, A., Varnagiris, S., Urbonavicius, M., Milcius, D., and Kleperis, J., 2023, Studies on water–aluminum scrap reaction kinetics in two steps and the efficiency of green hydrogen production, Energies, 16 (14), 5554.

[23] Wajima, T., 2020, A novel process for recycling of aluminum dross using alkali fusion, Mater. Trans., 61 (11), 2208–2215.

[24] Murayama, N., Maekawa, I., Ushiro, H., Miyoshi, T., Shibata, J., and Valix, M., 2012, Synthesis of various layered double hydroxides using aluminum dross generated in aluminum recycling process, Int. J. Miner. Process., 110-111, 46–52.

[25] Cai, J., Zhao, X., Zhang, Y., Zhang, Q., and Pan, B., 2018, Enhanced fluoride removal by La-doped Li/Al layered double hydroxides, J. Colloid Interface Sci., 509, 353–359.

[26] Wu, L., Evans, S.F., Cheng, Y., Navrotsky, A., Moyer, B.A., Harrison, S., and Paranthaman, M.P., 2019, Neutron spectroscopic and thermochemical characterization of lithium-aluminum-layered double hydroxide chloride: Implications for lithium recovery, J. Phys. Chem. C, 123 (34), 20723–20729.

[27] Liu, G., Zhu, Z., Zhao, N., Fang, Y., Gao, Y., Zhu, Y., and Zhang, L., 2020, Mn-Fe layered double hydroxide intercalated with ethylene-diaminetetraacetate anion: Synthesis and removal of As(III) from aqueous solution around pH 2–11, Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 17 (24), 9341.

[28] Wimpenny, J., Colla, C.A., Yu, P., Yin, Q.Z., Rustad, J.R., and Casey, W.H., 2015, Lithium isotope fractionation during uptake by gibbsite, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 168, 133–150.

[29] Simonnet, T., Grangeon, S., Claret, F., Maubec, N., Fall, M.D., Harba, R., and Galerne, B., 2024, Phase quantification using deep neural network processing of XRD patterns, IUCrJ, 11 (Pt. 5), 859–870.

[30] Zolfaghari, R., Rezai, B., Bahri, Z., and Mahmoudian, M., 2020, Influences of new synthesized active seeds and industrial seed on the aluminum hydroxide precipitation from sodium aluminate solution, J. Sustainable Metall., 6 (4), 643–658.

[31] Fogg, A.M., Freij, A.J., and Parkinson, G.M., 2002, Synthesis and anion exchange chemistry of rhombohedral Li/Al layered double hydroxides, Chem. Mater., 14 (1), 232–234.

[32] Zhong, J., Lin, S., and Yu, J., 2021, Lithium recovery from ultrahigh Mg²⁺/Li⁺ ratio brine using a novel granulated Li/Al-LDHs adsorbent, Sep. Purif. Technol., 256, 117780.

[33] Zhong, J., Lin, S., and Yu, J., 2020, Effects of excessive lithium deintercalation on Li⁺ adsorption performance and structural stability of lithium/aluminum layered double hydroxides, J. Colloid Interface Sci., 572, 107–113.

[34] Liu, J., Li, Y., Huang, X., Li, G., and Li, Z., 2008, Layered double hydroxide nano- and microstructures grown directly on metal substrates and their calcined products for application as Li-ion battery electrodes, Adv. Funct. Mater., 18 (9), 1448–1458.

[35] Paranthaman, M.P., Li, L., Luo, J., Hoke, T., Ucar, H., Moyer, B.A., and Harrison, S., 2017, Recovery of lithium from geothermal brine with lithium-aluminum layered double hydroxide chloride sorbents, Environ. Sci. Technol., 51 (22), 13481–13486.

[36] Zhang, Y., Liu, J., Li, Y., Yu, M., Li, S.M., and Xue, B., 2015, Fabrication of inhibitor anion-intercalated layered double hydroxide host films on aluminum alloy 2024 and their anticorrosion properties, J. Coat. Technol. Res., 12 (2), 293–302.

[37] Chen, Y.J., and Uan, J.Y., 2023, The effect of lithium ion leaching from calcined Li–Al hydrotalcite on the rapid removal of Ni²⁺/Cu²⁺ from contaminated aqueous solutions, Nanomaterials, 13 (9), 1477.

[38] Jiang, H., Yang Y., Sun, S., and Yu, J., 2020, Adsorption of lithium ions on lithium-aluminum hydroxides: Equilibrium and kinetics, Can. J. Chem. Eng., 98 (2), 544–555.

[39] Yang, Y., Jiang, H., and Yu, J., 2022, Investigation on desorption process in fixed bed for lithium recovery, Sep. Purif. Technol., 281, 119596.

[40] Lv, S., Zhao, Y., Zhang, L., Zhang, T., Dong, G., Li, D., Cheng, S., Ma, S., Song, S., Quintana, M., 2023, Anion regulation strategy of lithium-aluminum layered double hydroxides for strengthening resistance to deactivation in lithium recovery from brines, Chem. Eng. J., 472, 145026.

[41] Zhong, J., Lin, S., and Yu, J., 2021, Li⁺ adsorption performance and mechanism using lithium/aluminum layered double hydroxides in low grade brines, Desalination, 505, 114983.

[42] Luo, Q., Dong, M., Li, Q., Wu, Z., Liu, Z., and Li, J., 2022, Improve the durability of lithium adsorbent Li/Al-LDHs by Fe³⁺ substitution and nanocomposite of FeOOH, Miner. Eng., 185, 107717.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22146/ijc.97024