Recent advances in electrodialysis technologies for recovering critical minerals from unconventional sources

Abstract

The global challenge of climate change and the pursuit of carbon neutrality drive the demand for clean energy technologies, increasing the need for critical minerals. However, diminishing ore quality and supply chain vulnerabilities highlight the necessity of exploring unconventional mineral sources. This paper assesses the potential of sources such as low-grade ores, brines, and secondary byproducts for extracting critical minerals, focusing on lithium, nickel, cobalt, and rare earth elements. Conventional refining techniques struggle with the complexity and low concentrations found in unconventional sources, prompting the exploration of innovative methods. Electrically driven membrane technologies, particularly electrodialysis (ED), show promise for selectively transporting metals through ion exchange membranes. The combination of functionalized membranes and advanced ED technologies offers high selectivity for specific elements, and renewable energy-based ED operations can minimize environmental impact. Recent advancements in ED, including selective ED and liquid membrane ED, demonstrate efficient recovery of critical minerals. This comprehensive review explores the principles and recent progress in ED technologies, with a focus on recovering critical minerals from unconventional sources. The paper is structured into three main sections: categorizing the properties of unconventional sources of critical minerals based on the latest literature, exploring the fundamental principles underpinning modern ED technologies, and investigating recent breakthroughs in the separation and recovery of critical minerals from unconventional sources using ED technologies. This framework highlights the potential of advanced ED technologies in efficiently processing diverse unconventional sources and adeptly retrieving critical minerals. © 2024 The Author(s)