Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Lithium Mining, Extraction, and Refining Technologies: a Global Perspective
Shayan Khakmardan, Maximilian Rolinck, Felipe Cerdas, Christoph Herrmann, Damien Giurco, Robert Crawford, Wen Li
Abstract
The clean energy transition requires a considerable amount of different minerals, and lithium is one of the most critical elements owing to its use in Lithium-ion batteries for various applications. This led to calling this element “White Oil”, predominately extracted from brines and hard rocks. Alternative resource types, such as hectorite and zinnwaldite, become attractive and potentially feasible due to the surging market demand and price. Importantly, each resource type shows unique mineral characteristics and requires different process technologies, resources and energy for lithium extraction and production, resulting in distinctive environmental impacts. Therefore, this paper presents a comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) to quantify the environmental impact of selected lithium production routes: brine (Chile), spodumene (Australia & China), hectorite (Mexico), and zinnwaldite (Germany). The cradle-to-gate LCA models suggest that brine resources have the lowest impact regarding global warming potentials. In contrast, spodumene-based and emerging routes (i.e., hectorite and zinnwaldite) appear more carbon-intensive than brine routes, but it is worth noting the uncertainties of this conclusion due to a lack of high-quality data in the public domain.