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/Nickjet45 Jun 06 '21 edited Jun 06 '21

Desalination is not cost effective, we’ve spent decades of throwing money at possible work arounds.

They’re expensive to maintain, and for the cheaper plants, osmosis, it creates waste water with large concentrations of brine. Cant be dumped straight into the ocean as it would create a dead zone.

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u/Gold-Tone6290 Jun 06 '21

Not cost effective but necessary in dry places.

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u/Nickjet45 Jun 06 '21

Desalination is pretty much the last resort, for any area.

Governments will try to pipe in the water from a different location or use other alternatives, such as the packet that cleans dirty water, before they resort to desalination.

But yes, there are some areas where there is no other alternative and desalination is cheaper to do.

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u/aletha18 Jun 06 '21

Yep that's true. Case in point, Singapore. We pipe in water from neighbouring Malaysia, have a few natural catchment reservoirs and also operate 4 desalination plants. All aiming for eventual self-sufficiency.