Extraction of lithium from salt lake brine by aluminum-based alloys

Salt lake brine was reacted with activated aluminum-based alloys and lithium was precipitated. The effects of aluminum-based alloys on precipitating lithium were investigated and the reasonable alloy used to extract lithium from brine was obtained. The effects of the mole ratio of Al to Li and Ca content of Al–Ca alloy, the initial concentration of lithiumion ion in solution, reaction temperature and reaction time on the adsorption rate of lithium were studied, and the optimized process parameters were determined. The results show that the mole ratio of Al to Li and Ca content of Al–Ca alloy and reaction temperature have great influences on the precipitation rate of lithium. The precipitation rate of lithium reaches 94.6% under the optimal condition, indicating that Al–Ca alloy is suitable for the extraction of lithium from salt lake brine.