The first test series for Li extraction using LMO have been successfully carried out at the UnLimited test site in Bruchsal (Upper Rhine Graben). Under the site-specific temperature and pressure conditions, it was shown that the extraction of lithium using the DLE process is technically possible.
A manganese-based metal oxide was used as adsorbent for the experiments. The automated pilot plant was connected to the thermal water circuit above ground via a bypass system, allowing experiments to be carried out under site conditions (T = 60 °C, p = 20 bar).
The partners on site included EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG as operator of the geothermal power plant, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, which was responsible for the test planning and adsorbent provision, and BESTEC GmbH, which was commissioned with the technical implementation of the pilot plant. The tests were (radio-) chemically monitored by HYDROSION GmbH, as the solutes in the Bruchsal brine include naturally occurring radionuclides.
Hydrosion