UC936 Lithium Extractant

1. Product Introduction

In recent years, the technology for lithium extraction by solvent extraction has developed rapidly, and various lithium extractants have been developed and widely applied in large-scale lithium extraction projects in China. However, lithium extraction companies have found that some lithium extractants are prone to degradation in acidic and alkaline aqueous solutions, especially under higher temperatures, leading to a short cycle life, high loss, and a large amount of extractant replenishment. This not only increases the production cost of lithium carbonate but also significantly raises the COD of the raffinate, putting a lot of pressure on wastewater treatment.

In response to the above issues, our company has developed UC936 Lithium Extractant, which has excellent stability in acidic and alkaline aqueous solutions and at higher temperatures.

2. Extraction and Lithium Recovery Principle of UC936

The active ingredient in UC936 Lithium Extractant is an organic weak acid, which preferentially complexes with Li+ in an alkaline system and has weaker complexing ability with Na+ and K+, thus having a higher separation coefficient for Li/Na and Li/K. After the extraction reaction, a small amount of water or dilute acid is used to scrub the loaded organic phase to remove the entrapped Na+ and K+. Then, a small amount of acid is used to strip the scrubbed loaded organic phase to obtain a solution with a higher concentration of lithium, thereby achieving the separation of Li+ from Na+ and K+ and the concentration of Li+. The resulting solution with a higher concentration of lithium is further used for the production of lithium carbonate, realizing the full utilization of lithium resources. Since the main extractant and co-extractant molecules in UC936 Lithium Extractant do not contain functional groups that are prone to hydrolysis and oxidation, it has a long cycle life and maintains a low solubility loss rate.

3. Application Fields

(1) Lithium recovery from leach mother liquor;

(2) Lithium recovery from carbonate-type brine;

(3) Lithium recovery from waste liquid in lithium-ion battery recycling;

(4) Lithium recovery from evaporation and crystallization mother liquor at the end of lithium production from lepidolite and spodumene;

(5) Direct lithium recovery from sodium aluminate solutions containing lithium;

(6) Lithium recovery from other lithium-containing solutions.

4. Technical Advantages

Customized lithium extractants can be developed based on the composition characteristics of lithium-containing feed solutions and target requirements, along with professional guidance on application process technology.