At the Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas (National Research University), a unique biotechnological method has been developed for extracting lithium from water sources using vegetation.
In Russia, the creation of domestic lithium production facilities will reduce significant dependence on imports and meet the growing demand for this metal in the domestic market. Today, the production of lithium-ion batteries used in smartphones, laptops, cars, and other devices requires more than 80% of the total lithium mined.
Formation waters are contained in the pores and fractures of rocks. During the development of oil and gas fields, water accounts for 20% to 98% of the extracted liquid. Usually, excess water is pumped back into the formation, but its processing has hardly been studied so far.
Researchers at the university tested the ability of various plants to absorb lithium from salt solutions and found that rapeseed is the most promising option.
The plants were grown on a mixture of formation water and nutrient solutions. Lithium accumulated in the leaves and stem.
Russia buys lithium exclusively from abroad, which creates risks for the development of domestic industry. The biotechnological method of lithium extraction using plants will allow the use of the existing infrastructure of oil and gas enterprises, without requiring the construction of expensive installations. This direction is promising.
Scientists plan to refine the technological scheme for lithium extraction and begin pilot industrial tests.
Earlier, www1.ru reported that the first Russian gigafactory of batteries will open near Kaliningrad by the end of 2025.
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