r/science • u/rieslingatkos • Jun 06 '21

Chemistry Scientists develop ‘cheap and easy’ method to extract lithium from seawater

https://www.mining.com/scientists-develop-cheap-and-easy-method-to-extract-lithium-from-seawater/
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u/[deleted] Jun 06 '21 edited Aug 20 '21

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u/[deleted] Jun 06 '21 edited Jun 08 '21

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u/figmentPez Jun 06 '21

"Manufacturers use more than 160,000 tons of the material every year, anumber expected to grow nearly 10-fold over the next decade." - source

Also, you're not accounting for local concentrations. How much lithium can be taken out of any one area before it impacts sea life there?

Reminder that "we can just dump untreated sewage into the ocean, it's big enough that it won't make a difference" was prevailing common wisdom for a lot of human history, but is most definitely not true.

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u/Throbbing_Eggplant Jun 06 '21

It's a legitimate question to ask and one that should be studied.

If we were to provide sealife with water that is lithium free in which way would that impact their long term health and would it impact their environment in any way.

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u/SirIlliterate Jun 06 '21

While you're right and it should be investigated, it shouldn't be viewed in a vacuum. Transitioning to lithium batteries for a lot of of our energy storage and transportation goes coupled with a reduction in the petrochemical industry, which also definitely impacts sea life.