Optimizing lithium carbonate recovery through gas-liquid reactive crystallization of lithium hydroxide and carbon dioxide

Joshi B., UÇAR Ş., Knuutila H. K., Svendsen H. F., Andreassen J., Bandyopadhyay S.

Sustainable Materials and Technologies, vol.44, 2025 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus) identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 44
  • Publication Date: 2025
  • Doi Number: 10.1016/j.susmat.2025.e01341
  • Journal Name: Sustainable Materials and Technologies
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Compendex, INSPEC
  • Keywords: CO2 utilization, Gas–liquid reactive crystallization, Lithium carbonate, Recovery optimization
  • Middle East Technical University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Reactive crystallization of Li2CO3 in a semi-batch reactor using carbon dioxide (CO2) has been studied in the literature with an aim to enhance recovery of lithium from primary and secondary resources. However, an in-depth understanding of control variables that can enhance the yield of the recovery process is missing. Here, we discuss the fundamentals of Li2CO3 reactive crystallization from LiOH solution by carbon dioxide (CO2) injection to optimize lithium recovery. The significant factors affecting Li2CO3 crystallization, such as initial LiOH concentration, temperature, and CO2 flow rate, are investigated. The solid-liquid transitions and chord length distributions are monitored during Li2CO3 crystallization using in situ focused beam reflectance measurement (FBRM) and particle vision measurement (PVM) probes. Our results show that maximum lithium recovery corresponds to system pH maximum, influenced by the formation of soluble lithium bicarbonate. Furthermore, the work proposes an optimized CO2 injection strategy for maximizing lithium recovery in the form of Li2CO3 precipitates.