Synthesis and performance estimation of a granulated PVC/PAN-lithium ion-sieve for Li+ recovery from brine

In order to effectively solve the problem of adsorbent powder forming and further promote its industrial application, granulated lithium ion-sieve powder with spherical shape by polyvinyl chloride (PVC) with high mechanical stability of and hydrophilicity of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) with good hydrophilicity was initially prepared in our study by a phase transformation method. Based on the various characterization results, spherical particles materials formation mechanisms were summarized below. Langmuir, D-R, pseudo-second-order kinetics and diffusion kinetic indicated that the adsorption process of Li+ was a multi-step controlled monolayer chemisorption process. In addition, after 50 cycles of dynamic column operation, the adsorption capacity remained around 11.90 mg g−1, and the manganese dissolution loss rate was only 0.15%, which is much lower than that as reported. Therefore, the spherical adsorbent could be used for efficiently recovery Li+ from Salt Lake brine as well as its excellent potential for further application.