CleanTech Lithium PLC (AIM:CTL, OTCQX:CTLHF) said that its new industrial forward osmosis (iFO) unit has arrived and is being installed at the facilities of Conductive Energy in Chicago, US.
The unit will be used to convert concentrated eluate from the company´s pilot plant will be converted into battery-grade lithium carbonate and marks the final piece of equipment required for the downstream conversion process to begin.
An initial 88m³ of concentrated eluate from the Laguna Verde project, or the equivalent of one tonne of lithium carbonate is already at Conductive Energy’s facility with conversion expected to start shortly.
CleanTech added that using iFO adds several benefits to the downstream conversion process compared to conventional thermal evaporators, notably higher water recovery and lower energy consumption and CO2 emissions.
“This further enhances the potential environmental benefits and process efficiency that the company aims to achieve in applying Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) to produce lithium from brine.”