# Direct lithium extraction: picking Li⁺ out of brine

> An ion Sankey: every ion in a salar brine is a ribbon, and two gates sort them. A nanofiltration membrane turns back the doubly charged Mg²⁺ and Ca²⁺ (Li⁺ and Mg²⁺ are the same size), a lithium-ion sieve turns back Na⁺ and K⁺, and only a thin thread of Li⁺ reaches the lithium chloride and Li₂CO₃, in hours or days instead of the 1–2 years of evaporation ponds.

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- Updated: 2026-10-14
- Category: Graphical abstracts
- Method: Graphical abstract
- Starting materials: Salar brine: Li⁺ at 200–4000 mg/L alongside Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺
- Product: A lithium chloride eluate, then battery-grade Li₂CO₃
- Key result: Li⁺ 200–4000 mg/L; ponds 1–2 years (Yong et al. 2024); up to 95 % of the brine evaporated, ≤ 800,000 L water per t Li₂CO₃, DLE hours or days (Sreedhar et al. 2026); Li⁺ 76 pm vs Mg²⁺ 72 pm (Mura et al. 2026); Mg/Li 19.8 → 0.3 (Zhang et al. 2024); Li⁺/Na⁺ 2707 (Fan et al. 2024); > 99.95 % Li₂CO₃ at Mg/Li up to 3258 (Li et al. 2024)
- Figure: 1920 × 1080 px, 95 editable layers (2 generated objects with settings)

## Steps

1. **The slow way**: Evaporation ponds take 1–2 years from pumping to Li₂CO₃ (Yong et al. 2024); up to 95 % of the brine evaporates, up to 800,000 L of water per tonne of Li₂CO₃ (Sreedhar et al. 2026)
2. **Gate 1: charge**: Li⁺ (≈ 76 pm) and Mg²⁺ (≈ 72 pm) are the same size (Mura et al. 2026); a nanofiltration membrane holds Mg²⁺ back by Donnan exclusion and the dielectric effect (Yong et al. 2024); Mg/Li fell from 19.8 to 0.3 in one membrane step (Zhang et al. 2024)
3. **Gate 2: size**: Na⁺ and K⁺ share Li⁺’s charge; lithium-ion sieves swap H⁺ for Li⁺ and give it back in an acid rinse (Sreedhar et al. 2026; Gao et al. 2025); channels that pass only naked Li⁺ reach Li⁺/Na⁺ selectivity 2707 (Fan et al. 2024)
4. **The product**: Li⁺ leaves as lithium chloride and becomes Li₂CO₃: > 99.95 % pure even from brine with Mg/Li up to 3258 with iron-phosphate electrodes (Li et al. 2024); DLE takes hours or days (Sreedhar et al. 2026)

## Uses

- Graphical abstracts on direct lithium extraction, sorbents and membranes
- Talks on critical minerals and battery supply chains
- Teaching ion selectivity: charge against size

## References

1. Yong et al., “Nanofiltration membranes for efficient lithium extraction from salt-lake brine: a critical review”, ACS Environmental Au 2024. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsenvironau.4c00061 (review)
2. Sreedhar et al., “Membranes for lithium recovery from conventional and unconventional sources”, ACS ES&T Engineering 2026. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestengg.5c00997 (review)
3. Gao et al., “Progress of research in titanium-based lithium-ion sieves for the extraction of lithium from salt lake brine”, ACS Omega 2025. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.4c08886 (review)
4. Mura et al., “Selective lithium–magnesium separation from brines by ionic-liquid solvent extraction”, International Journal of Molecular Sciences 2026. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27209005 (review)
5. Zhang et al., “Solar-driven membrane separation for direct lithium extraction from artificial salt-lake brine”, Nature Communications 2024. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-44625-w (primary)
6. Fan et al., “A bioinspired membrane with ultrahigh Li⁺/Na⁺ and Li⁺/K⁺ separations enables direct lithium extraction from brine”, Advanced Science 2024. https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202402898 (primary)
7. Li et al., “Lithium extraction from brine through a decoupled and membrane-free electrochemical cell design”, Science 2024. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adg8487 (primary)

Credit: Drawn by LabCanvas after Yong et al., ACS Environ Au 2024 (doi:10.1021/acsenvironau.4c00061); Sreedhar et al., ACS ES&T Eng 2026 (doi:10.1021/acsestengg.5c00997); Gao et al., ACS Omega 2025 (doi:10.1021/acsomega.4c08886); Mura et al., Int J Mol Sci 2026 (doi:10.3390/ijms27209005); Zhang et al., Nat Commun 2024 (doi:10.1038/s41467-023-44625-w); Fan et al., Adv Sci 2024 (doi:10.1002/advs.202402898) and Li et al., Science 2024 (doi:10.1126/science.adg8487).

## Questions

**What does the “Direct lithium extraction: picking Li⁺ out of brine” template show?** An ion Sankey: every ion in a salar brine is a ribbon, and two gates sort them. A nanofiltration membrane turns back the doubly charged Mg²⁺ and Ca²⁺ (Li⁺ and Mg²⁺ are the same size), a lithium-ion sieve turns back Na⁺ and K⁺, and only a thin thread of Li⁺ reaches the lithium chloride and Li₂CO₃, in hours or days instead of the 1–2 years of evaporation ponds.

**What are the steps shown in “Direct lithium extraction: picking Li⁺ out of brine”?** 1. The slow way: Evaporation ponds take 1–2 years from pumping to Li₂CO₃ (Yong et al. 2024); up to 95 % of the brine evaporates, up to 800,000 L of water per tonne of Li₂CO₃ (Sreedhar et al. 2026). 2. Gate 1: charge: Li⁺ (≈ 76 pm) and Mg²⁺ (≈ 72 pm) are the same size (Mura et al. 2026); a nanofiltration membrane holds Mg²⁺ back by Donnan exclusion and the dielectric effect (Yong et al. 2024); Mg/Li fell from 19.8 to 0.3 in one membrane step (Zhang et al. 2024). 3. Gate 2: size: Na⁺ and K⁺ share Li⁺’s charge; lithium-ion sieves swap H⁺ for Li⁺ and give it back in an acid rinse (Sreedhar et al. 2026; Gao et al. 2025); channels that pass only naked Li⁺ reach Li⁺/Na⁺ selectivity 2707 (Fan et al. 2024). 4. The product: Li⁺ leaves as lithium chloride and becomes Li₂CO₃: > 99.95 % pure even from brine with Mg/Li up to 3258 with iron-phosphate electrodes (Li et al. 2024); DLE takes hours or days (Sreedhar et al. 2026).

**What are the starting materials and the product?** Starting materials: Salar brine: Li⁺ at 200–4000 mg/L alongside Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺. Product: A lithium chloride eluate, then battery-grade Li₂CO₃.

**Which papers is “Direct lithium extraction: picking Li⁺ out of brine” based on?** Yong et al., “Nanofiltration membranes for efficient lithium extraction from salt-lake brine: a critical review”, ACS Environmental Au 2024 (doi:10.1021/acsenvironau.4c00061); Sreedhar et al., “Membranes for lithium recovery from conventional and unconventional sources”, ACS ES&T Engineering 2026 (doi:10.1021/acsestengg.5c00997); Gao et al., “Progress of research in titanium-based lithium-ion sieves for the extraction of lithium from salt lake brine”, ACS Omega 2025 (doi:10.1021/acsomega.4c08886); Mura et al., “Selective lithium–magnesium separation from brines by ionic-liquid solvent extraction”, International Journal of Molecular Sciences 2026 (doi:10.3390/ijms27209005); Zhang et al., “Solar-driven membrane separation for direct lithium extraction from artificial salt-lake brine”, Nature Communications 2024 (doi:10.1038/s41467-023-44625-w); Fan et al., “A bioinspired membrane with ultrahigh Li⁺/Na⁺ and Li⁺/K⁺ separations enables direct lithium extraction from brine”, Advanced Science 2024 (doi:10.1002/advs.202402898); Li et al., “Lithium extraction from brine through a decoupled and membrane-free electrochemical cell design”, Science 2024 (doi:10.1126/science.adg8487).

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