US 12,467,152 B2
Lithium recovery from lithium salts dissolved in ionic liquids
David W. Hatchett, Las Vegas, NV (US); and Cassara J. Higgins, Las Vegas, NV (US)
Assigned to THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE NEVADA SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION ON BEHALF OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, LAS VEGAS, Las Vegas, NV (US)
Appl. No. 17/795,646
Filed by THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE NEVADA SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION ON BEHALF OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, Las Vegas, NV (US)
PCT Filed Mar. 5, 2021, PCT No. PCT/US2021/021004
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jul. 27, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/178748, PCT Pub. Date Sep. 10, 2021.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/986,032, filed on Mar. 6, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2023/0072690 A1, Mar. 9, 2023
Int. Cl. C25C 1/22 (2006.01); C22B 3/20 (2006.01); C22B 59/00 (2006.01); C25C 7/02 (2006.01)
CPC C25C 1/22 (2013.01) [C25C 7/02 (2013.01)] 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for recovering lithium, comprising:
combining a lithium salt and a nonaqueous acid in water and then dehydrating to form a dehydrated composition comprising the lithium salt and the nonaqueous acid;
sparging an ionic liquid with an inert gas to remove water and CO2 and adding the sparged an ionic liquid to the dehydrated composition comprising the lithium salt and the nonaqueous acid to form an ionic liquid composition; and
applying a potential to the ionic liquid composition to deposit lithium onto an electrode.