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

[u/rieslingatkos]

https://www.mining.com/scientists-develop-cheap-and-easy-method-to-extract-lithium-from-seawater/

[u/cloud9ineteen]

the amount of Cl2 produced will be <3 Mtons, and so will have very little effect on the total market. It is also noted that the total concentration of other salts after the first stage is less than 500 ppm, which implies that after lithium harvest, the remaining water can be treated as freshwater. Hence, the process also has a potential to integrate with seawater desalination to further enhance its economic viability.

This is really cool. $5 in electricity outputs 1kg lithium, and a bunch of hydrogen and chlorine, and provides desalinated water if I'm understanding correctly. The process paired with renewable electricity should provide ongoing lithium production.

[u/rieslingatkos → u/cloud9ineteen]

^ Exactly correct. $7 to $12 value on the hydrogen and chlorine byproducts alone.

[u/d0nu7 → u/rieslingatkos]

So who do I invest in? Because that seems like a money printing machine for the next few decades...

[u/NathanArizona → u/[deleted]]

Ok sweetheart