Lithium Extraction, Recycling, and Life Cycle Assessment
This community focuses on recovering lithium and other valuable metals from spent lithium-ion batteries and natural brines, while evaluating the environmental and economic impacts of these processes.
The research centers on chemical separation techniques, particularly using deep eutectic solvents and choline chloride, to selectively extract lithium from complex mixtures. A significant portion of the work involves life cycle assessment to compare the sustainability of recycling spent batteries against primary mining. Specific applications include processing lithium iron phosphate cathodes and recovering cobalt, nickel, and copper. The work addresses the technical challenges of separating lithium from magnesium and other ions in low-quality brines, as well as the broader circular economy implications for the electric vehicle supply chain.
Lithium research accounts for 4.5% of all tracked lithium studies, representing 10,049 papers within this group. Cobalt and nickel each contribute roughly 1.1% of their respective element research, with 2,796 and 2,166 papers here.
The community comprises 25,168 papers, publishing most frequently in Separation and Purification Technology, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, and Journal of Cleaner Production.
Recent work continues to explore selective ion sieves for brine extraction, direct repair of spent lithium iron phosphate materials, and circular economy strategies for global battery supply chains.