Preparation of lithium carbonate from spodumene by a sodium carbonate autoclave process

Preparation of lithium carbonate from spodumene concentrate was carried out by a sodium carbonate autoclave process. The effects of different operation conditions including liquid-to-solid ratio, Na/Li ratio, agitation speed, reaction temperature and reaction time on the lithium carbonate conversion efficiencies were initially investigated. The results show that the conversion efficiency is not less than 94% under the optimal conditions. The purity of the obtained lithium carbonate can reaches up to 99.6%, which is higher than that obtained by sulfuric acid method.

► Lithium carbonate was prepared from spodumene by a sodium carbonate autoclave method. Effects of the preparation conditions on conversion efficiencies were investigated.
► The preparation conditions were optimized, and the lithium carbonate conversion efficiency was above 94% under these optimal conditions.
► The purity of obtained lithium carbonate sample were 99.6%, which was much higher than that obtained by sulfuric acid method. No sulfate was detected in the sample.