​The Salton Sea in the USA may have the largest Lithium field that can be safely extracted

 

The Salton Sea in California is a large geothermal field which by pumping up the hot water powers turbines and makes electricity but the water also contains large amounts of lithium. There seems to be a very substantial deposit of lithium here but there is little understanding of where the lithium comes from and the rate at which it would decline as extraction takes place. This brown source of lithium is larger than the South American deposits and could possibly supply 50 to 100 years worth of lithium production to the United States. By during direct lithium extraction the lithium ions can be separated from all the other islands in the cold brine and this can be used to make lithium compounds for batteries. By using some of the electricity generated then much of this lithium can extracted in environmentally friendly way. This project has been carried out by the Lawrence Berkeley National laboratory.



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