Lithium recovery system using electrostatic field assistance

• Electrostatic field assistance (EFA) onto lithium adsorbent improves a lithium recovery process.
• Adsorption by EFA shows the accelerated adsorption performance of lithium in aqueous solution.
• The desorption of lithium by EFA suppress the dissolution of manganese from the original structure of lithium adsorbent.

In this study, we suggested a novel recovery system for lithium using electrostatic field assistance (EFA) to improve the conventional adsorption method, which requires a long adsorption time. To verify our suggested concept, a lithium selective electrode was prepared using a lithium selective adsorbent and hydrophilic PVA binder, and a test set was fabricated by modifying the conventional membrane capacitive deionization (MCDI) system. The adsorption performance by EFA was compared to that of the conventional adsorption process. The results showed that the adsorption performance by EFA increased with increased cell potential up to 1.0 V and initial lithium concentrations. The adsorption performance for lithium by EFA was superior to that by physisorption in the range of initial lithium concentration tested. The adsorption time to reach an equilibrium state by EFA was reduced compared to that of physisorption, which showed the acceleration effect of EFA. The suggested system also showed good reproducibility and durability during the repeated adsorption/desorption cycles. This system could be an alternative recovery system for lithium from aqueous solution containing lithium ions.