Carbon and Water Footprints of Battery-Grade Lithium Carbonate Produced from Brine and Spodumene: A Study Focused on Process Simulation-Based Life Cycle Inventories

The increasing lithium demand driven by e-mobility transforms lower-grade deposits into economically viable reserves. This article combines process simulation (HSC Sim) and life cycle assessment (LCA) tools to develop parametric life cycle inventories (LCIs), taking into account variations in the ore grade of lithium deposits. Brine and hard rock deposits were examined considering three ore grades for each type. The environmental impacts related to global warming potential (GWP), water consumption, and water scarcity footprint (WSF), were assessed. Depending on the ore grades, GWP ranges from 4,96 to 25,04 for brine and from 17,11 to 22,33 kgCO2eq/kgLi2CO3 for spodumene. Two ways to assess water impacts within brines are presented, with high-grade deposits accounting for 0,17 or 0,32 m3/kgLi2CO3 depending on the approach This work offers valuable insights of process simulation to enhance existing LCA studies in the raw materials industry and further develop LCI datasets considering variations on deposit’s ore grades.