Chemetall Foote Corporation

Daniel Alfred Boryta

Anthony Michael Thurston

Teresita Frianeza Kullberg

Methods and apparatus for the production of low sodium lithium carbonate and lithium chloride from a brine concentrated to about 6.0 wt % lithium are disclosed. Methods and apparatus for direct recovery of technical grade lithium chloride from the concentrated brine are also disclosed.

Production of lithium compounds directly from lithium containing brines

Metal carbonates that are insoluble in water but that have a corresponding metal biocarbonate salt that is more than 75% by weight soluble in water are purified by preparing an aqueous slurry of the metal carbonate: introducing carbon dioxide gas to form a corresponding metal biocarbonate solution and heating that solution to form a purified metal carbonate and precipitate it.

A continuous process for directly preparing high purity lithium carbonate from lithium containing brines by preparing a brine containing about 6.0 wt % lithium and further containing other ions naturally occurring in brines; adding mother liquor containing carbonate to precipitate magnesium; adding a solution of CaO and sodium carbonate to remove calcium and any residual magnesium; precipitating lithium carbonate from the purified brine by adding soda ash solution; filtering to obtain solid lithium carbonate; preparing an aqueous slurry of the lithium carbonate and introducing carbon dioxide gas at a temperature from at least minus 10 to +40&#xb0; C.; passing the lithium bicarbonate solution through a filter to clarify the solution; introducing said filtered lithium bicarbonate solution into a reactor and adjusting the temperature of the solution to from 60&#x2013;100&#xb0; C. to precipitate ultra-pure lithium carbonate.

Recovery of lithium compounds from brines

A method for producing lithium carbonate by precipitating magnesium as the hydroxide from a brine concentrated to a lithium concentration of about 6%. Lithium is then precipitated from the brine by addition of recycled limed mother liquor from a previous lithium precipitation step.

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Cherryville, NC, United States of America

Daniel Alfred Boryta