Optimization of lithium adsorption from seawater via aluminum chloride as adsorbent using response surface methodology

ABSTRACT

Lithium extraction from natural resources is an accelerating field of research owing to its growing demand in the medical, nuclear, battery, and air conditioning industries. Lithium compounds are used in various industries, including ceramics, glass, lubricant gases, rocket propellant, and aluminum production. The extraction of lithium from seawater via adsorption using AlCl₃.6 H₂O as an adsorbent is investigated in this study. The effect of process parameters such as pH, temperature, contact time, the molar ratio ([Al³⁺]/[Li⁺]), and stirring rate on process efficiency is investigated and optimized. The response surface methodology (RSM) is used to investigate the effects of operating parameters and choose the optimal configuration. A standard synthetic solution containing 50 ppm lithium is prepared and experimented with facilitating comprehension of the procedure. The adsorption efficiency of a synthetic solution is 88% at optimized values, while that of seawater is 78.5%. Seawater has a lower efficiency because it contains ions such as Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, K⁺, and Na⁺ that compete for active points/sites during adsorption with lithium ions (Li⁺).

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Adsorption
• lithium
• optimization
• response surface approach
• seawater

Highlights

• An efficient investigation of lithium extraction from seawater utilizing an appropriate adsorption methodology.

• An assessment was conducted on the adsorption of lithium from seawater using AlCl₃.6H₂O as an adsorbent.

• An evaluation was conducted to examine the impact of process factors, including pH, temperature, contact time, molar ratio, and stirring rate, on the efficiency of the process.

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the coal and renewable energy centers of the NFC Institute of Engineering and Technology (NFC-IET), Multan, Pakistan, for their support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Maham Hussain

Maham Hussain: Conceptualization, Supervision, Project administration, Review, and editing.

Fahim Uddin

Fahim Uddin: Software, Formal analysis, original draft writing, Review, and editing.

Nadeem Raza

Nadeem Raza: Original draft writing, formal analysis.

Waqas Aleem

Waqas Aleem: Validating review and editing, orifical draft writing

Sadiq Hussain

Sadiq Hussain: Conceptualization, Supervision, Project administration

Alamin Idris

Alamin Idris: Validating Review and editing, orifical draft writing.

Salman Qadir

Salman Qadir: Original draft writing, formal analysis.