Chicago university scientists make strides in lithium extraction from diverse sources

Researchers at the University of Chicago have developed a new, efficient method to extract lithium from diluted sources like seawater, groundwater, and drilling 'flow back water', offering a potential solution to meeting growing battery demand

Scientists at the University of Chicago's Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering have developed an efficient technique for extracting lithium from more diluted and widespread sources such as groundwater, seawater, and "flow back water" from offshore oil drilling and hydraulic fracturing. This breakthrough could address the widening gap between lithium demand and supply, given the expanding market for electric vehicles and consequently, lithium-ion batteries. Traditional extraction methods from rock ores or brines are labor-intensive, costly, harmful to the environment, and dependent on concentrated lithium reserves, which are only found in a few countries.