Lithium: Extraction and Uses: an Environmental Overview Blaize

Giangiulio
Framing the Issue:
In the second century AD, Greek physician Soranus of Ephesus, one of the founders of
the methodic school of medicine, treated manic patients by letting them bathe in lithium-rich
spring waters. The water flowed from aquifer sources which were in physical contact with some
of western Greece’s lithium-rich ore. Its mere exposure to these ores enabled the water to have a
high total dissolved solids content of lithium. Such usage of lithium was passive, as it did not
involve any actual extraction of the element; accordingly, it had no negative environmental
impact (1). Times have since changed: from the mid 19th to the late 20th century, open-pit mines
were used to extract lithium for its uses in medicine, ceramics, weapons, and plane grease.
However, with the invention of the first commercial lithium-ion battery in 1985, demand for the
element has skyrocketed, forcing producers to resort to more drastic extraction methods (2). As
of today, over 87% of the world’s lithium is supplied via environmentally-destructive brine mines
(3). This paper will analyze the environmental impact of Lithium extraction, economic use, and
waste product. It will be broken into two eras: (1) “early use and extraction”, from 1850 to 1985,
during which lithium was extracted via open-pit mines and used for medicine, airplane grease,
and nuclear weapon fuel and (2) “late use and extraction” 1985 to now, during which lithium is
extracted via brine mines and used predominantly in Li-ion battery production.
1. Early Lithium Extraction and Use (1850 – 1985)
a. Summary
Lithium, as an element, was not known until the early 19 th C., when Swedish chemist
Johan Augustus Arfvedson discovered it while analyzing the mineral petalite; he was working as
an unpaid notary for the Royal Board of Mines at the time. In 1821, Lithium was successfully
isolated from mineral ore via electrolysis. However, interest in wide-scale lithium extraction was
low until the mid 19th C., when a solution of lithium carbonate was discovered to treat gout (5).
Also around this time, lithium pills were found to be effective at treating depression and bipolar
disorder (6). Lithium supply responded to its rising demand, as open-pit mines (mostly
throughout North America) were used to extract lithium-rich mineral ores. “Crushing, grinding,
gravity concentration, and flotation” processes would then isolate the lithium from its ore. First,
large chunks of mined rock would be fed through a crusher, then they’d be put in a large steel
‘mill’ which would agitate them. A ‘classifier’ would be used to physically separate the lithium-
rich rock from its waste counterpart. Then, ‘flotation techniques’ used the hydrophilic and
hydrophobic properties of the element to distinguish between the two. Lastly, the final product
was treated with sulfuric acid to obtain useable lithium chemicals (lithium hydroxide and lithium
carbonate)(7)(8)(2).
Throughout the late 19th and early 20th C., lithium use remained predominantly medical,
treating a wide range of issues: gout, bipolar disorder, depression, etc. (2). Later, however,
lithium became used as an airplane lubricant: lithium lubricants were non-corrosive and had a
high melting point, making them effective for warplanes (9). With the onset of WWII, demand
for lithium lubricant rose, constituting the element’s first “large-scale use” (9). During the Cold
War, Lithium6 was used as a target element inside nuclear weapons and reactors; it would react
with neutrons, producing tritium: an ultra-important fuel for nuclear weapons (A).
b. Environmental impact of Extraction
The physical construction of an open-pit mine requires energy, as heavy machinery is
used to clear large swaths of land (a couple of square kilometers). Then, enormous pits (up to
200m deep) must be created through digging and blasting into the landscape. Finally, supporting
infrastructure must be built: roads, treatment plants, ore processing facilities, offices, etc. Once
the mine is constructed, around 3 000 tons of ore and 8 000 tons of waste rock are produced
daily. The former is then crushed and transported out of the pit via trucks and conveyor belts (B),
while the 8000 tons of daily waste rock cause toxic runoff known as acid mine drainage (AMD):
the acidic outflow of water from mines where sulfide minerals are broken up and made to
oxidize. AMD outflows associated with lithium pit mines in North America cause a decrease in
both quantity and diversity of aquatic species in nearby ecosystems (C)(D). Lastly, some
commercial mineral concentrates of Lithia (Li2O) must go through further refinement, which
often entails mixing with sulfuric acid. The chemical reagents used in this process are known to
find their way into local ecosystems by mixing with rainwater and being carried as runoff.
Adding insult to injury, vastly unregulated disposal of toxic reagents results in unsafe “dumping”
of mining waste, whereby toxic tailings are purposely released into local ecosystems, as has
happened across Canada, wreaking havoc on local fish population and drinking water (E).
c. Environmental Impact of Uses and Entropic Waste Products
Once refined into useful concentrates, lithium served several economic purposes throughout this
period. During WWII, lithium grease became popular as an airplane lubricant. Due to its high
melting point and resistance to water, lithium grease enabled aircraft to operate over a wider
range of external temperatures (-65° F to 250° F)(F). More carbon-fueled warplanes in the sky
contributed to air pollution, as planes like the B-17 “Flying Fortress” relied on four 750 hp
engines. Additionally, production of such planes and the bombs that they dropped required
extensive mining of metals and synthesis of ammonium nitrates. The mass aerial bombing of
cities during the latter half of the war – which rendered extreme human costs: deaths, refugees,
and mutilation – led to their post-war reconstruction, calling for the widescale extraction of
building materials and usage of carbon-based energy to rebuild that which was so frivolously
destroyed. Following WWII, an isotope of lithium (Li-6) became used as a target element inside
nuclear weapons and reactors, reacting with neutrons in a process that would create tritium which
would further enhance the destructive nature of fission bombs. Accordingly, the arms race
increased demand for lithium extraction, as countries blindly competed to increase their
destructive capabilities (A). Thanks to the nuclear age, the US is left with 53 million gallons of
indisposable radioactive waste and 450 billion gallons of irradiated waste water which was
simply discharged back into the soil (G). In addition to the toxic entropic waste created by
nuclear reactors across the US, a 1991 study by the International Physicians for the Prevention of
Nuclear War speculated that up to 2.4 million cancer deaths could be caused by atmospheric
nuclear tests.
2. The Situation Today: Current Lithium Uses and Extraction (LIBs)
a. Summary
In the late 1990s, brine mines became the primary source of lithium due to their relatively
low extraction costs compared to those of hard-rock ores (2). Today’s Li brine mines are
predominantly located in South America’s “Lithium Triangle”, at the junction of Bolivia, Chile,
and Argentina. The process of brine mining starts with drilling through salt flats to an
underground source of water and lithium-rich brine. This liquid is then pumped to the surface
where it is allocated to an evaporation pool and left to evaporate, leaving behind a high salt
content precipitate. This solution is then placed in another evaporation pool and saturated with a
new chemical agent, where it is left to evaporate again. This process of evaporation and
saturation is repeated a number of times over a period lasting 12-18 months until the final
solution has a lithium content of 6 000 ppm. It is lastly sent to a treatment facility where soda ash
is used to precipitate out the economically useful Lithium Carbonate (2). While Brine mining of
lithium has provided for the 700% increase in lithium production over the past 12 years, the
process requires mass evaporation of water in some of the driest places on earth, leaving
indigenous groups and local populations without the needed resource to fuel their agriculture-
based economies. The skyrocketing demand for the element is due to the rise in li-ion battery
production, which accounts for over half of all lithium use (3). LIBs act as a storage medium for
energy: their uses range from powering electric cars and headphones to stockpiling “green
energy” from solar and wind sources.
b. Environmental Impact of Extraction
Lithium brine mines require both extensive and intensive use of land: large mines occupy
spaces around 50 km2 and are composed of hundreds of evaporation pools, each of which
saturated with chemical reagents. The initial step requires external energy (carbon or geothermal)
to drill holes through salt flats to the brine solution’s underground storage site. The brine is then
pumped above ground, removing tremendous amounts of water, as 1.89 million liters of water are
used to extract one ton of lithium. Productive mines produce 20 000+ tons per annum (4). Due to
mining activities using around 65% of the region’s water, local quinoa farmers and llama herders
are forced to get water driven to them from elsewhere. As the brine solution is refined to a higher
lithium content, it is repeatedly saturated with harmful chemicals, including hydrochloric acid,
which have a tendency to leak back into the local water supply: one such incident in Sichuan,
China led to countless dead yak and fish appearing around the Liqi river, which witnesses say
turned black and released a toxic odor (H). After having frivolously eaten through much of the
local water supply, the mine will eventually lose its productive capacity. Dried pools of toxic
chemical salts, the byproduct from each stage of the evaporation-saturation process, are left to
disfigure the landscape. Such pools still pose the threat of leaking their chemicals into local water
supply which are conveniently located nearby.
c. Environmental Impact of Uses and Entropic Waste Products
Once the lithium carbonate is filtered out, it can be used for a wide range of economic
purposes. A growing majority of all lithium is used in the production of lithium-ion batteries. The
production of such batteries is energy intensive, and it relies on the additional mining of nickel,
copper, some rare earth metals, and cobalt (9). Cobalt mining in the DRC has widely gone
unregulated: poorly designed mines are prone to collapse, killing miners, around 35 000 of whom
are children (I). While the energy-storage mechanisms provided by Li-ion batteries are often
hailed as a step towards a more versatile and sustainable future, they are by no means “green”.
Rather, their widespread use in “energy arbitrage” – producing energy where it is cheap, storing it
in Liion batteries, and transporting it to more expensive regions for sale – was found to result in a
net increase of CO2 emissions across the US by researchers at The Rochester Institute of
Technology. This emission increase is resultant of the lower marginal cost per unit of energy
provided by energy arbitrage and the energy loss that the process of storage and transportation
entails – the energy efficiency of such storage arbitrage is abysmal, with only around 50% of all
produced energy being available at the end (J)(K).
Once the Li-ion batteries are eventually degraded, they are left as material entropy. Because
consumers typically throw away their used-up batteries, most end up in landfills – with less than
5 percent of such batteries being recycled worldwide (L). As previously stated, the batteries
contain an amalgam of potentially toxic metals: lead, mercury, cadmium, etc. Once in landfills,
the Li-ion batteries’ casings corrode, allowing these chemicals to percolate into the soil and
penetrate underground drinking water sources (M). Additionally, when the exposed lithium reacts
with moisture at a landfill, it has the potential to start underground fires which, being extremely
difficult to put out, may simply burn for years.
3. Future Prospects
As the demand for lithium-ion batteries continues to skyrocket due to their high energy
density (optimum for smaller electronic devices) and low maintenance, competitors have arisen:
zinc batteries have been able to power villages throughout Africa and Asia, but their large-scale
potential is on a short leash, as zinc reserves will only last another 25 years at the current rate of
consumption. Sodium-sulfur batteries have seen wide use across the Middle East, but the high
volatility of these two elements has caused numerous factory explosions. It thus looks like li-ion
batteries will continue to control the market, driving demand for lithium to new highs. As brine
sources alone cannot match this demand, less-efficient open-pit mining of the element has started
to make a resurgence with mines opening across Canada. On a different note, however, recycling
of li-ion batteries is likely to rise. Companies and research firms, driven by the incentive of
extracting valuable metals and inputs, have developed cheaper and more efficient recycling
processes: hydrometallurgical recovery processes have been put to use on an industrial scale in
Finland. This process has effectively raised the rate of battery recycling to 80%, while lowering
CO2 emissions. With these technological advancements, and the inexorable rise of the electronic
 vehicle, the Li-ion battery recycling industry is set to increase in value by nearly 20 fold over the
next two decades. (N)

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