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Lithium brine to product in months

Membrane concentration shortens solar evaporation from 18–24 months to 3–6, and brings dilute direct-extraction eluate to crystallization strength. It works with any DLE chemistry.

Aerial view of lithium brine ponds beside salt flats
Brine to product, against 18–24
3–6months
Water recovered, against 5–20% in ponds
70–80%
Lithium salt feed to crystallization
200g/L

The challenge

Lithium projects are held back by the concentration step. Solar evaporation is slow and loses most of the water to the atmosphere; direct extraction removes the ponds but produces a stream too dilute to crystallize economically.

  1. Time

    18–24 months between brine and concentrate in evaporation ponds.

  2. Water

    80–95% of the brine volume lost to evaporation, often in water-scarce regions.

  3. Crystallizer size

    Dilute DLE output forces an oversized, expensive crystallizer.

Approach

Two process routes

The MemBrine Concentrator either pre-concentrates brine ahead of an existing pond operation, or concentrates DLE eluate ahead of crystallization. The selective step stays with the project's chosen technology.

Pond route with membrane pre-concentration

  1. Brine extraction

    0.1–0.2% Li from salars or underground brines.

  2. MBC pre-concentration

    Lithium strength raised ahead of the pond.

  3. Water recovery

    70–80% of the volume recovered as clean water.

  4. Final pond

    Approximately 6% Li to the final evaporation stage.

  5. Chemical plant

    Crystallization-ready concentrate.

Direct extraction with membrane concentration

  1. Pretreatment

    Raw brine conditioned for selective extraction.

  2. DLE

    The project's chosen chemistry takes lithium from the matrix.

  3. MBC concentration

    Dilute eluate concentrated to crystallization strength.

  4. Water reuse

    Recovered water returned to the operation.

  5. Crystallization

    A 200 g/L feed sets a 50–90% smaller crystallizer.

Time from brine to product

Solar evaporation18 to 24 months
With membrane pre-concentration3 to 6 months
06121824

Months from brine to product

Timeline comparison
ProcessFastest (months)Slowest (months)
Solar evaporation1824
With membrane pre-concentration36

What it delivers

  1. Faster production

    3–6 months from brine to product, against 18–24 months of solar evaporation.

  2. Smaller footprint

    80–90% less land than conventional evaporation ponds.

  3. Smaller crystallizer

    A 200 g/L lithium salt feed reduces crystallizer size by 50–90%.

  4. No fresh water make-up

    Processing and regeneration run on water recovered from the brine.

Discuss a project

Share the flow rate, water analysis, and treatment objective. Our process engineering team will follow up.

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