Study of lithium exploitation from carbonate subtype and sulfate type salt-lakes of Tibet

A novel process for extracting lithium from carbonate subtype and sulfate type salt-lakes of Tibet by making full use of local resources and energy was developed. In this research, we extract lithium from carbonate subtype and sulfate type salt-lakes of Tibet through following three steps: carbonate enriched brine was prepared via freezing and evaporating of carbonate type brine (CO32- content is 60.76 g/L); lithium enriched brine was obtained by mixing sulfate-type brine and frozen carbonate-type brine (Li+ content is 12.56 g/L); and lithium carbonate with a purity of 97.49% and a lithium yield of 54.85% was precipitated by mixing the lithium enriched brine and carbonate enriched brine. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.