Abstract
The burgeoning electric vehicle (EV) sector in the United States (US) is expected to drive up the demand for lithium, a critical element for EV batteries. Lithium-rich clays in the Nevada desert emerge as a prospective US-based domestic source. This study employs Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to examine the environmental aspects of extracting lithium from this source. Among the two evaluated routes, acid leaching was more energy-efficient (35 MJ/kg LCE (Lithium Carbonate Equivalent) than roasting (200 MJ/kg LCE), based on pilot plant data. When compared to conventional methods like spodumene-based extraction, acid leaching shows reductions across almost every category, with notable decreases in high-magnitude impacts like Global Warming (48 %), Freshwater Ecotoxicity (15 %), and Smog (69 %). Water consumption is the only category that increases, rising by 79 %. Insights from this study on upstream impacts of lithium from clay could help inform sourcing decisions downstream, in the battery and EV sector.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 324-332 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Sustainable Production and Consumption |
| Volume | 52 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2024 |
Funding
This research was supported by the Critical Materials Innovation Hub, an Energy Innovation Hub funded by the US Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office. Part of the lithium extraction research (MPP) was performed through the Re-Cell Center, which gratefully acknowledges support from the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Vehicle Technologies Office. This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC under Contract No. DEAC05-00OR22725 with the US Department of Energy. The United States Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the United States Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes. The Department of Energy will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan (http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan). This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC under Contract No. DEAC05-00OR22725 with the US Department of Energy. The United States Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the United States Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes. The Department of Energy will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan ( http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan ).
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| United States Government | |
| DOE Public Access Plan | |
| Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy | |
| U.S. Department of Energy | |
| Critical Materials Innovation Hub | |
| Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office | |
| Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Vehicle Technologies Office | DEAC05-00OR22725 |
Keywords
- Life cycle assessment (LCA)
- Lithium extraction
- Lithium-rich clays
- US domestic Lithium
