Application and Analysis of Bipolar Membrane Electrodialysis for LiOH Production at High Electrolyte Concentrations: Current Scope and Challenges.

The objective of this work was to evaluate obtaining LiOH directly from brines with high LiCl concentrations using bipolar membrane electrodialysis by the analysis of Li ion transport phenomena. For this purpose, Neosepta BP and Fumasep FBM bipolar membranes were characterized by linear sweep voltammetry, and the Li transport number in cation-exchange membranes was determined. In addition, a laboratory-scale reactor was designed, constructed, and tested to develop experimental LiOH production tests.

Analysis of a Process for Producing Battery Grade Lithium Hydroxide by Membrane Electrodialysis.

A membrane electrodialysis process was tested for obtaining battery grade lithium hydroxide from lithium brines. Currently, in the conventional procedure, a brine with Li+ 4-6 wt% is fed to a process to form lithium carbonate and further used to produce lithium hydroxide. The disadvantages of this process are its high cost due to several stage requirement and the usage of lime, causing waste generation.