Development of particulate sorbents for lithium recovery and preconcentration

Within the scope of the thesis, development of particle-shaped titanium-based sorbents for lithium recovery and preconcentration has been studied. For this purpose, it is aimed to use Ti(OH)4–polymer composite microspheres, synthesized by a newly developed sol-gel templating method, in the sorbent synthesis. Ti(OH)4–polymer composite microspheres were reacted with both Li2CO3 and LiOH compounds at 700°C for 5 hours to synthesize Li2TiO3 precursor. The resulting dilithium titanate precursor has a spherical form and a porous structure. H2TiO3 ion sieve (sorbent) was obtained by treating Li2TiO3 particles with a solution of HCl at 70°C. Li+ recovery of these sorbents from the aqueous solution medium with porous spherical adsorbent, which is not available in the literature, was investigated in batch system. In adsorption experiments, the effect of sorbent concentration, Li initial concentration in the medium and the change in ambient pH value on equilibrium Li adsorption of the sorbent used was investigated. Eti Mine Works General Directorate Kırka Boron Operation Directorate Factory Weak solution was used as adsorption medium containing lithium, different from the literature. Sorbent adsorbed only B and Na ions from ions such as B, Na, Mg, Ca and K, found in media other than lithium. The separation coefficients (α) of B and Na ions relative to Li ion were calculated as 3.6 and 12, respectively. The reusability of the prepared sorbent was studied and it was observed that the amount of 17.15 mg Li+/ g particle adsorption has decreased to 14 mg Li+/g particle adsorption as a result of 5 consecutive usage. While the initial lithium concentration of the synthesized ion sieve was in the range of 70-1700 mg/l, the amount of lithium adsorption was followed and it was found that the adsorption value at the concentration of 1700 mg/l was 92.59 mg Li+/g particles. The prepared titanium-based sorbent was compared with materials of similar form used in the literature