Case Study: The Electrodialysis System at Baqian Lake

【Project Overview】

In the field of salt lake lithium resource development, the efficient processing of mixed lithium chloride and sodium chloride solutions has remained a significant technical challenge. While conventional methods achieve basic separation, they often suffer from low lithium recovery rates, unsatisfactory product purity, and substantial water resource waste, leading to low overall resource utilization and persistently high production costs.

This project employs an integrated electrodialysis-reverse osmosis (ED-RO) process. Through technological integration and process innovation, it simultaneously enables water reuse and enhances lithium resource recovery. The entire process operates without high-temperature evaporation or significant chemical additives, fundamentally avoiding the inherent drawbacks of traditional methods. It has successfully achieved efficient lithium recovery from mixed solutions and environmentally friendly production throughout the lifecycle, offering a novel solution for the industry.

【Project Highlights】

• Recovery Efficiency: From "Primary Enrichment" to "Deep Recovery"
  Conventional processes typically yield lithium recovery rates below 90% with significant product concentration fluctuations. This project achieves a consistent overall lithium recovery rate exceeding 97%, markedly improving resource utilization.
  
• Product Purity: From "Rough Processing" to "Refined Output"
  Traditional methods struggle to effectively remove impurity elements like boron, impacting downstream product quality. By strategically adjusting system pH, this project simultaneously achieves effective boron removal, significantly enhancing the purity of the lithium-enriched solution. This provides high-quality feedstock for subsequent lithium precipitation steps and reduces downstream processing costs.
• Resource Utilization: From "Linear Consumption" to "Circular Regeneration"
  Conventional processes consume large volumes of water and generate significant wastewater requiring treatment. This project achieves cascading utilization and cyclic regeneration of water resources by treating and reusing the electrodialysis freshwater stream via reverse osmosis. This dramatically reduces freshwater consumption and wastewater discharge, enhancing economic benefits while alleviating environmental impact.