Geothermal operator EnergySource that operates the John L Featherstone (Hudson Ranch I) geothermal power plant in the Salton Sea in California has filed for a patent for the extraction of lithium from geothermal brine.
“This invention relates generally to a system and process for recovery of select minerals and lithium from a geothermal brine. The system and process are configured for the sequential recovery of zinc, manganese, and lithium from a Salton Sea Known Geothermal Resource Area brine. The system and process includes: 1) an impurity removal circuit; then 2) a continuous counter-current ion exchange (CCIX) circuit for selectively recovering lithium chloride from the brine flow and concentrating it using a CCIX unit; and then 3) a lithium chloride conversion circuit for converting lithium chloride to lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide product.”
For further details see link below.
Source: U.S. Patent & Trademark office
