This week's speaker is:

Kristen Abels, Ph.D. Candidate, Stanford University
"Donnan Dialysis As a Low-energy Process For Lithium Brine Concentration"

Abstract:

Rapid growth in the electric vehicle market is projected to quadruple global lithium carbonate (Li₂CO₃) demand by 2040. To secure the supply chain, governments are introducing new initiatives on direct lithium extraction (DLE) from unconventional sources like oilfield and geothermal brines. Generally, DLE applications involve separation, concentration, and crystallization to produce a solid Li₂CO₃ product from an impure brine. The concentration step is typically achieved via reverse osmosis (RO) followed by thermal evaporation, and it is often the most energy intensive stage of DLE.  This talk reviews the potential of a low-energy, near-ambient pressure process alternative to RO called Donnan Dialysis that could significantly reduce the energy intensity of the DLE process. We first present a proof of concept of Donnan Dialysis for lithium brine concentration, demonstrating its ability to achieve good concentration factors and recoveries. We then use a process model validated by experiment to assess the scale-up potential of Donnan Dialysis. In our ongoing work, we investigate the integration of Donnan Dialysis into the full DLE treatment train, with the aim of completing comprehensive life-cycle and techno-economic assessments of the RO- vs. Donnan Dialysis-integrated process to quantify how the environmental impact and economics of these two processes differ.

Bio:

Kristen Abels is a 4th year PhD candidate supervised by Dr. William Tarpeh in the Chemical Engineering Department at Stanford University. Her research centers around the assessment of polymeric membranes for ion-selective separations, with the target application of resource recovery from waste streams, such as lithium recovery from battery waste and brines. Kristen received her B.Eng. Biosciences in Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering at McMaster University.

The central topic of these seminar series is modeling approaches to facilitate resource conservation and a just energy transition. Potential subtopics are an emerging technology’s potential for scaling, life-cycle assessment for measuring social and environmental impacts, uncertainty quantification, and economic modeling for the energy transition. Our goal is to create an intimate, collaborative space for students, postdocs, scientists, and PIs within the Stanford techno-economic modeling and systems modeling community. These seminars will provide an opportunity to disseminate insights from your studies, connect with fellow researchers, and strengthen bonds across the community.