Lithium Separations Using Advanced Porous Material Composites

Lithium is currently extracted by slow, expansive and chemically intensive processing, taking around 12 months and 2.3 million litres of water per ton of lithium. To satisfy current and emerging demand for lithium, new materials and processes must be developed. In this thesis, membranes were prepared from advanced porous materials that have an appropriate size and interaction to improve lithium transport. This work was then translated into more stable porous materials with similar properties. Finally, a chemical-free regeneration technique was extended towards lithium separations. These low cost and scalable methods provide fundamental insight and meaningful directions towards commercialisation.