	US 12,338,510 B2
	Lithium recovery and purification
Ahmad Ghahreman, Kingston (CA); Graeme Goodall, Sudbury (CA); and Rajan Pandher, Sudbury (CA)
Assigned to XPS EXPERT PROCESS SOLUTIONS—GLENCORE CANADA CORPORATION, Falconbridge (CA); AG HYDROMETALLURGY SERVICES INC., Kingston (CA); and FRONTIER LITHIUM INC., Val Caron (CA)
Appl. No. 17/309,610
Filed by XPS EXPERT PROCESS SOLUTIONS—GLENCORE CANADA CORPORATION, Falconbridge (CA); AG HYDROMETALLURGY SERVICES INC., Kingston (CA); and FRONTIER LITHIUM INC., Val Caron (CA)
PCT Filed Dec. 12, 2019, PCT No. PCT/CA2019/051790 § 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jun. 10, 2021, PCT Pub. No. WO2020/118436, PCT Pub. Date Jun. 18, 2020.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/778,530, filed on Dec. 12, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2022/0064757 A1, Mar. 3, 2022
Int. Cl. C22B 7/00 (2006.01); C22B 26/12 (2006.01); H01M 4/40 (2006.01); H01M 10/0525 (2010.01); H01M 10/54 (2006.01)

CPC C22B 7/007 (2013.01) [C22B 26/12 (2013.01); H01M 4/405 (2013.01); H01M 10/0525 (2013.01); H01M 10/54 (2013.01)]

11 Claims

1. A process for recovering a lithium (Li) species from a mixture comprising a lithium species and species of one or more metals other than lithium, comprising:

treating the mixture with sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) to provide a Li₂SO₄-comprising aqueous solution;

treating the Li₂SO₄-comprising aqueous solution with one or more barium salts to form a precipitate comprising barium sulfate (BaSO₄);

treating the solution remaining after BaSO₄precipitation with a carbonate salt to form a precipitate comprising one or more metal carbonates of the one or more metals other than lithium;

recovering the lithium species from the solution remaining after precipitation of the one or more metal carbonates in the form of lithium hydroxide (LiOH) or a hydrate thereof, via heat treatment and crystallization.