Toward utilising geothermal waters for cleaner and sustainable production: potential of Li recovery from geothermal brines in Turkey

Geothermal fluids are potentially significant sources of technology critical minerals and metals. These fluids can be processed to recover valuable metals such as gold, silver, zinc, and lithium. Interest and demand in lithium (Li) sources have increased in recent years. This is, in part, due to the wide applications of Li and its compounds in high-energy storage Li batteries, and in other technological fields, e.g., nuclear energy systems. Moreover, the costs associated with resource extraction from geothermal fluids are believed to be relatively low, and therefore many possible recovery techniques have been suggested. Lithium is one of the metals that dominate Na-Cl type of geothermal fluids in Turkey with its potential value. This article presents lithium concentrations of selected geothermal waters in Turkey and compares different methods that can be used to recover Li from them. Specifically, three methods will be discussed including direct precipitation as Li salts, separation by membrane filter and captured form through ion exchange resins.