Separating lithium and magnesium in brine by aluminum-based materials

Separating lithium and magnesium from high Mg/Li mass ratio brine is an internationally recognized concern. The following study used the reaction between the aluminum-based material with the brine in order to investigate the reaction process of the lithium precipitation as well as the influences on the lithium precipitation rate and Mg/Li mass ratio in precipitation. The results showed that the direct reaction process of the aluminum-based material with the brine helped to eliminate the product coating on the surface of the raw material while enhancing the lithium precipitation rate. Aluminum-based materials exhibit the excellent performance of precipitating lithium and separating lithium and magnesium. The lithium precipitation rate reached 78.3%. The Mg/Li mass ratio in the precipitate was only 0.02, under the optimal conditions. The results were informative for the separation of lithium and magnesium in a salt lake brine.