Eureka Resources, a wastewater treatment and disposal solutions company based in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, announced it made new strides in the sustainable lithium supply chain, unlocking a domestic source of lithium from oil and natural gas brine.
The company said it extracted 97% pure lithium carbonate from oil and natural gas brine from production activities with up to a 90% recovery rate. The milestone was accomplished in partnership with Switzerland-based SEP Salt & Evaporation Plants, a chemical engineering company that specializes in salt.
“It is a validation of SEP’s vast experience in the salt and lithium crystallization area and of its laboratory testing capabilities assisting the development of novel recovery processes for unconventional brine sources," Jens-Holger Schmidt, CEO of SEP, said in a statement.
Eureka Resources has a patented water treatment process that recycles and converts more than 80% of wastewater by volume to freshwater.
The closed-loop process involves a combination of physical and chemical treatment, concentration, and crystallization using existing industrial equipment. For the last 10 years, Eureka has used the process of extracting commercial-grade sodium chloride and calcium chloride, and clean water. With the recent breakthrough, the company said the inclusion of the extraction of lithium as lithium carbonate as a fourth output will be operational within two years.
The U.S. demand for lithium is expected to continue rising, particularly after the approval of the Inflation Reduction Act, which incentivized electric-vehicle manufacturers to use domestic sources of lithium in their vehicles. Lithium is in demand all over the world, making domestic supply all the more important.
"We are thrilled to announce this advancement in our mineral extraction capabilities," Eureka Resources CEO Dan Ertel said in a statement. "Our patented process for extracting lithium from brine wastes and other industrial wastewaters is not only environmentally friendly but also provides a reliable domestic source of lithium for the U.S. market. This is a major step forward in our mission to create sustainable, domestic solutions for critical mineral recovery."
Lithium recovery from water has been of interest to the Department of Energy as part of the clean energy supply chain.
