Lithium Hydroxide Minipilot Production from Alberta’s Lithium‐Bearing Oilfield Brines

With growing demand for lithium‐ion batteries and concerns about the adequacy of lithium supplies, lithium production from unconventional resources such as low‐grade petrobrines has become an economically attractive venture. The presence of sub‐100 ppm Li in Western Canada oilfield brines has been known for more than two decades; however, the complexity of oilfield brine chemistry and relatively low concentrations of Li have hampered its commercial production. Recion has developed a process to extract, concentrate, purify, and produce LiOH from such brines that promises to enable nascent lithium mining companies in
Canada to generate high‐value lithium products. A successful commercialization of this process will both contribute to the diversification of the Canadian mining sector and aid in positioning western Canada as one of strongholds of Li production in North America.