Background
Lithium is the metal with the highest energy density, is an important constituent element of a lithium ion battery, and has an important role in the field of new energy. With the increasing popularity of electric vehicles, the demand of lithium salts in the market is rapidly increasing. However, lithium is associated with various alkali metals, thereby resulting in low lithium extraction yield and low lithium salt purity. Especially for low-grade lithium resources, the extraction efficiency of lithium is extremely low at present.
Currently, lithium salts are mainly derived from ores (such as spodumene and lepidolite), salt lake brines and battery recycling. Extraction of lithium from these three sources all involves the separation of lithium from other alkali metals (sodium, potassium), such as: (1) The salt lake brine after magnesium removal is a mixed solution containing lithium, sodium and potassium; (2) The solution after extracting the divalent and trivalent metals from the battery leachate is a mixed solution containing lithium and sodium; (3) Lithium-containing wastewater generated in the battery recovery process is a mixed solution containing lithium and sodium; (4) the lithium precipitation mother liquor is a mixed solution containing lithium and sodium; (5) The oil field brine after removing the calcium and the magnesium is a mixed solution containing lithium, sodium and potassium; (6) The pharmaceutical waste water of part of synthetic drugs is a mixed solution containing lithium and sodium, etc.
The existing lithium, sodium and potassium separation method mainly comprises the following steps: (1) The lithium was concentrated by repeated evaporation to precipitate sodium sulfate and potassium sulfate. The method has the advantages of complex process, high energy consumption and low lithium recovery rate. (2) Lithium is selectively extracted from the mixed solution by solvent extraction, and then purified and concentrated by washing and back extraction. Typical solvent extraction systems are those based on beta diketones and neutral organophosphorus. However, beta-diketones are unstable compounds that interconvert with multiple isomers; meanwhile, beta diketone has low acidity (pKa is approximately equal to 10), and the activity of reaction with lithium is very low, so that the lithium extraction efficiency is low, and the alkali consumption is very large. In addition, beta-diketone is easily decomposed in an alkaline environment, which causes a series of problems such as loss of an extracting agent and emulsification, and the like, so that the extraction process is difficult to stably operate.
In view of the problems of the prior art, the invention provides a solvent extraction system based on carbonyl enol and organophosphorus, which can effectively extract and extract lithium from a lithium-containing solution. The solvent extraction system has high reaction activity, high extraction selectivity, low alkali consumption and energy consumption in the extraction process, stable structure of the extracting agent, repeated recycling and no emulsification and other problems.
Disclosure of Invention
The invention aims to provide a synergistic solvent extraction system based on carbonyl enol and organic phosphorus, which can efficiently extract lithium from a lithium-containing solution, efficiently recover the lithium and separate the lithium from impurities such as sodium, potassium and the like.
A solvent extraction system for efficient extraction of lithium comprises a carbonyl enol having a structure represented by formula (IA or IB), an organophosphorus having a structure represented by formula (IIA, IIB, IIC or IID), and optionally a polar hydrophobic additive.
In the formulae (IA) and (IB), R 1 、R 2 、R 3 May be the same or different and is H or C 1 -C 15 Alkyl or aryl groups such as methyl, butyl, hexyl, octyl, dodecyl, phenyl, benzyl, phenylbutyl, and the like; or alkoxy, such as octyloxy; or an amine group, such as N, N-dibutylamino; or, R 1 And R 3 Or R 2 And R 3 Can be connected into a ring, and other arbitrary groups can be connected on the ring.
The carbonyl enol may be, for example, (Z) -1-hydroxy-1-phenyl-1-dodecen-3-one, (Z) -3-hydroxy-1-phenyl-3-decen-1-one, (Z) -3-hydroxy-1-phenyl-2-decen-1-one, 1- (5-hydroxy-3-methyl-1-phenyl-4-pyrazolyl) -1-benzophenone, 4- (1-hydroxyphenylmethylene) -5-methyl-2-benzyl-2, 4-dihydro-3-pyrazolone, (Z) -3-hydroxy-1-phenyl-3-dodecen-1-one, octyl 2-hydroxybenzoate, N-dibutyl-2-hydroxybenzamide, or the like.
In the formulae (IIA) to (IID), R 1 、R 2 、R 3 May be the same or different and are each independently C 1 -C 15 Alkyl or aryl radicals of (a), e.g. methyl, butyl,Hexyl, octyl, dodecyl, phenyl, benzyl, phenylbutyl, and the like.
The organophosphorus may be selected from one or a mixture of two or more of phosphine oxide (IIA), phosphinate (IIB), phosphonate (IIC) and phosphate (IID).
The molar ratio of the carbonyl enol to the organic phosphorus is 10.
The polar hydrophobic additive refers to a hydrophobic solvent with certain polarity, and can be one or a mixture of two or more of alcohol, ketone, ether and ester, and the alcohol can be selected from octanol, decanol, dodecanol and the like; such as 4-methyl-2-pentanone (MIBK), diisobutyl ketone (DIBK), etc.; such as diamyl ether, dihexyl ether, etc.; such as heptyl acetate, butyl benzoate, and the like. The additive content is 0vol% to 30vol%, based on the total volume of the carbonyl enol, the organic phosphorus and the additive. The polar hydrophobic additive helps to improve the solubility of organic substances and the phase separation effect.
The invention further relates to a method for extracting lithium from lithium-containing solution with high efficiency by using the solvent extraction system of the invention, which comprises the following steps:
(1) Dissolving a solvent extraction system according to the present invention in a diluent to prepare an organic phase, the volume concentration of the extraction system being 3vol% to 95vol%, based on the total volume of the organic phase;
(2) Measuring the concentration of lithium in the lithium-containing solution to be detected, and adding a proper amount of alkali into the lithium-containing solution to improve the activity of an extraction system for extracting lithium so as to obtain a water phase to be extracted;
(3) Introducing the organic phase prepared in the step (1) and the water phase obtained in the step (2) into extraction equipment, and carrying out countercurrent extraction reaction to obtain a lithium-loaded organic phase;
(4) Carrying out countercurrent washing on the lithium-loaded organic phase in the step (3) by using a washing solution to obtain a washed organic phase;
(5) Carrying out counter-current back extraction on the organic phase washed in the step (4) to obtain a back-extracted organic phase and a high-purity lithium salt solution;
(6) And returning the organic phase after back extraction to the organic phase storage tank for recycling, and extracting lithium by countercurrent extraction.
In the step (1), the diluent is alkane (such as kerosene, D70 solvent oil and the like), aromatic hydrocarbon (such as toluene, S150 solvent oil and the like) or a mixed solvent thereof.
In the step (2), the alkali is selected from sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, ammonia water, sodium carbonate, potassium carbonate or any mixture thereof. And controlling the addition amount of the alkali in the solution to ensure that the concentration of the alkali is 0.5-3.0 times of the molar concentration of the lithium based on the molar concentration of the lithium in the lithium-containing solution to be measured.
In the step (3), the extraction equipment can use an extraction clarifier, an extraction tower or a centrifugal extractor, the extraction stage number is 1-20 stages, and the volume ratio of the organic phase to the water phase is 1.
In the step (4), the washing liquid is water, dilute hydrochloric acid or dilute sulfuric acid, and the concentration of the hydrochloric acid or sulfuric acid solution is 0.01-3.0mol/L; the volume ratio of the organic phase to the washing liquid is 1.
In the step (5), hydrochloric acid solution or sulfuric acid solution is used as stripping solution, and the concentration of the stripping solution is 0.1-12.0mol/L; the volume ratio of the organic phase to the stripping solution is 1-50, and the stripping stage number is 1-20.
The solvent extraction system for extracting lithium efficiently has the lithium recovery rate of more than 99 percent and the lithium purity of more than 99.5 percent.
The solvent extraction system for extracting lithium efficiently can be used for extracting lithium from various lithium-containing solutions such as salt lake brine, oil field brine, battery leachate, ore leachate, lithium precipitation mother liquor, lithium-containing wastewater and the like.
Advantageous effects
Compared with the prior art, the solvent extraction system is a synergistic extraction system based on the mixing of carbonyl enol and organic phosphorus, the stability is obviously improved, the emulsification phenomenon is eliminated, and the solvent extraction system can be recycled for a long time; the total organic content (i.e. COD) in the raffinate is low, and the raffinate is simple to treat. The solvent extraction system of the invention has high reaction activity, can fully utilize the alkali in the solution, and greatly reduces the alkali consumption in the lithium extraction process, thereby reducing the production cost of the lithium salt. The solvent extraction system of the invention can be advantageously applied to the extraction of lithium in various lithium-containing solutions, and has particularly remarkable advantages for extracting lithium from low-grade lithium-containing solutions and alkalescent lithium-containing solutions. The method for extracting lithium from lithium-containing solution (such as lithium, sodium and potassium (rubidium and cesium) mixed solution) by utilizing the solvent extraction system can simultaneously realize the purification and concentration of lithium, shorten the process flow and improve the recovery rate of lithium. The solvent extraction system of the invention has important significance for fully utilizing low-grade lithium resources.
Detailed Description
The following examples are intended to illustrate the present invention more specifically, but the present invention is not limited to these examples at all, and those skilled in the art can make various modifications within the technical idea of the present invention.
Example 1
The lithium-containing solution to be treated is salt lake brine, and the magnesium is removed by a nanofiltration method, so that the obtained solution contains 0.2g/L of lithium, 85g/L of sodium, 8.6g/L of potassium and trace amounts of magnesium, calcium, rubidium and cesium.
6vol% (Z) -1-hydroxy-1-phenyl-1-dodecen-3-one, 6vol% Cyanex 923 (mixture of alkyl phosphine oxides, where the alkyl groups are hexyl and octyl) and 88vol% kerosene were made up into the organic phase. NaOH was added to the lithium-containing solution so that the NaOH concentration was 0.04mol/L to prepare an aqueous phase. And (3) carrying out 4-stage continuous countercurrent extraction on the organic phase and the aqueous phase in an extraction clarifying tank according to the volume ratio of 1. The lithium-loaded organic is washed by 0.3mol/L hydrochloric acid for 2 grades in an extraction clarifying tank according to the volume ratio of 20; and (3) carrying out back extraction on the washed organic substances in an extraction clarifying tank by using 4mol/L hydrochloric acid according to the volume ratio of 20 to 1, and carrying out back extraction for 2 grades to obtain a high-purity lithium chloride solution with the lithium concentration of 18-20g/L, wherein the lithium purity is more than 99.8 percent. The organic phase after the back extraction is returned to the extraction section for recycling. The lithium chloride solution was precipitated at 80 ℃ with sodium carbonate in a stoichiometric ratio of 0.8 times the lithium to give battery grade lithium carbonate with a purity of >99.8%.
Example 2
The lithium-containing solution to be treated is taken from a solution obtained by disassembling, crushing, leaching and removing divalent and trivalent metals from a recovered lithium battery, and contains 2.7g/L of lithium, 50g/L of sodium, and trace amounts of cobalt, nickel, magnesium and the like.
An organic phase was prepared by dissolving 18vol% (Z) -3-hydroxy-1-phenyl-3-decen-1-one, 30vol% TRPO (a mixture of alkyl phosphine oxides, wherein the alkyl groups are heptyl and octyl) and 5vol% octanol in 47vol% kerosene. NaOH was added to the lithium-containing solution so that the NaOH concentration was 0.45mol/L to prepare an aqueous phase. Carrying out 3-stage continuous countercurrent extraction on the organic phase and the aqueous phase in an extraction clarifying tank according to the volume ratio of 1>99 percent. The loaded organic phase is continuously washed with 0.2mol/L sulfuric acid in the volume ratio of 10; and (3) the washed organic matters are sequentially and continuously back extracted by 2mol/L sulfuric acid in an extraction clarifying tank according to the volume ratio of 10 to 1, and the back extraction is carried out for 2 grades, so that high-purity Li with the lithium concentration of 25-27g/L is obtained 2 SO 4 Solution of lithium purity>99.8 percent. The organic phase after the back extraction is returned to the extraction section for recycling. The lithium sulfate solution was precipitated at 80 ℃ with sodium carbonate in an amount 0.8 times the stoichiometric ratio of lithium to obtain battery grade lithium carbonate with a purity of 99.8%.
Example 3
The solution to be treated is lithium-containing wastewater generated in the process of recovering the battery, and the lithium concentration of the solution to be treated is 0.5g/L and the sodium concentration of the solution to be treated is 48g/L.
15vol% (Z) -3-hydroxy-1-phenyl-2-decen-1-one and 2vol% (20vol%) Cyanex 925 (alkyl phosphine oxide containing branched alkyl group) were dissolved in 65vol% kerosene to prepare an organic phase. NaOH was added to the lithium-containing solution so that the concentration of NaOH was 0.10mol/L to prepare an aqueous phase. The organic phase and the aqueous phase are subjected to 3-stage continuous countercurrent extraction in an extraction clarifier according to the volume ratio of 1. The loaded organic phase is continuously washed with 1.0mol/L hydrochloric acid in the volume ratio of 20; and (3) carrying out back extraction on the washed organic matters in an extraction clarifying tank by using hydrochloric acid of 8.0mol/L according to the volume ratio of 20 to 1, and carrying out back extraction for 2 grades to obtain a LiCl solution with the lithium concentration of 45-50 g/L. The organic phase after the back extraction is returned to the extraction section for recycling. The lithium chloride solution was precipitated at 80 ℃ with sodium carbonate in a stoichiometric ratio of 0.7 times the lithium to give battery grade lithium carbonate with a purity of > 99.6%.
Example 4
The solution to be treated is lithium deposition mother liquor obtained after adding sodium carbonate into lithium sulfate solution to deposit lithium carbonate, and the lithium deposition mother liquor contains 3.4g/L of lithium and 46g/L of sodium.
1- (5-hydroxy-3-methyl-1-phenyl-4-pyrazolyl) -1-benzophenone in an amount of 18vol%, TOPO (trioctylphosphine oxide) in an amount of 15vol% and P350 (dimethylheptyl methylphosphonate) in an amount of 15vol% in a solvent of 62vol% S150 to prepare an organic phase. The lithium precipitation mother liquor is directly used as a water phase without adding alkali. The organic phase and the aqueous phase are subjected to 3-stage continuous countercurrent extraction in an extraction clarifier according to the volume ratio of 1. Continuously washing the lithium-loaded organic phase in an extraction clarifying tank by using 0.5mol/L hydrochloric acid to wash the co-extracted sodium in a volume ratio of 10; and (3) carrying out back extraction on the washed organic matters in an extraction clarifying tank by using 5mol/L hydrochloric acid according to the volume ratio of 10. The organic phase after the back extraction is returned to the extraction section for recycling. The lithium chloride solution was precipitated at 80 ℃ with sodium carbonate in a stoichiometric ratio of 0.7 times the lithium to give battery grade lithium carbonate with a purity of > 99.6%.
Example 5
The solution to be treated is a mixed solution containing 0.12g/L of lithium, 35g/L of sodium and 10g/L of potassium, which is obtained by removing calcium and magnesium from oil field brine through nanofiltration.
25vol% of 4- (1-hydroxyphenylmethylene) -5-methyl-2-benzyl-2, 4-dihydro-3-pyrazolone, 20vol% of TRPO and 10vol% of trioctylphosphate were dissolved in 45vol% of S150 solvent to prepare an organic phase. NaOH was added to the lithium-containing solution so that the NaOH concentration was 0.02mol/L to prepare an aqueous phase. The organic phase and the aqueous phase are subjected to 4-stage continuous countercurrent extraction in an extraction clarifying tank according to the volume ratio of 1. The loaded organic phase is continuously washed by 0.8mol/L hydrochloric acid in an extraction clarifying tank according to the volume ratio of 10; and (3) carrying out back extraction on the washed organic matters in an extraction clarifying tank by using 10mol/L hydrochloric acid according to the volume ratio of 10 to 1, and carrying out back extraction for 2 grades to obtain a LiCl solution with the lithium concentration of 55-60 g/L. The organic phase after the back extraction is returned to the extraction section for recycling. Evaporating and crystallizing the lithium chloride solution to obtain a lithium chloride product with the purity of more than 99.6 percent.
Example 6
The solution to be treated is pharmaceutical wastewater containing 8.2g/L of lithium and 65g/L of sodium.
An organic phase was prepared by dissolving 20vol% (Z) -3-hydroxy-1-phenyl-3-dodecen-1-one, 20vol% TRPO and 15vol% trihexyl phosphate in 20vol% kerosene and 25vol% S150 solvent. NaOH was added to the lithium-containing solution to a concentration of 1.3mol/L to prepare an aqueous phase. And (3) carrying out 4-stage continuous countercurrent extraction on the organic phase and the aqueous phase in an extraction clarifying tank according to the volume ratio of 1.5. Continuously washing the lithium-loaded organic phase in an extraction clarifying tank by using 1.0mol/L hydrochloric acid to wash the co-extracted sodium in a volume ratio of 10; and (3) carrying out back extraction on the washed organic matters in an extraction clarifying tank by using 8mol/L hydrochloric acid according to the volume ratio of 10. The organic phase after the back extraction is returned to the extraction section for recycling. Evaporating and crystallizing the lithium chloride solution to obtain lithium chloride crystals with the purity of more than 99.6 percent.
Example 7
The solution to be treated is underground brine, and after calcium and magnesium are removed by nanofiltration, the solution contains 0.26g/L of lithium, 102g/L of sodium and 24g/L of potassium.
1% by 15vol 2-hydroxybenzoic acid octyl ester, 15vol TRPO and 5vol tributyl phosphate were dissolved in 65vol% kerosene solvent to prepare an organic phase. NaOH was added to the lithium-containing solution so that the NaOH concentration was 0.045mol/L, and the aqueous phase was prepared. The organic phase and the aqueous phase are subjected to 3-stage continuous countercurrent extraction in an extraction clarifier according to the volume ratio of 1. Continuously washing the lithium-loaded organic phase in an extraction clarifying tank by using 0.6mol/L hydrochloric acid to wash the co-extracted sodium in a volume ratio of 10; and (3) carrying out back extraction on the washed organic matters in an extraction clarifying tank by 6mol/L hydrochloric acid according to the volume ratio of 10 to 1, and carrying out back extraction for 2 grades to obtain a LiCl solution with the lithium concentration of 35-39 g/L. The organic phase after the back extraction is returned to the extraction section for recycling. The lithium chloride solution was precipitated at 80 ℃ with sodium carbonate in a stoichiometric ratio of 0.7 times the lithium to give battery grade lithium carbonate with a purity of > 99.6%.
Example 8
The lithium-containing solution to be treated is salt lake old brine, and the magnesium is removed by a nanofiltration method to obtain a solution containing 1.2g/L of lithium, 14g/L of sodium and 2.5g/L of potassium.
2vol% of N, N-dibutyl-2-hydroxybenzamide, 2vol% of TRPO and 10vol% of dimethylheptyl methylphosphonate were dissolved in 50vol% of kerosene solvent to prepare an organic phase. NaOH was added to the lithium-containing solution to adjust the NaOH concentration to 0.2mol/L, and a water phase was prepared. The organic phase and the aqueous phase are subjected to 3-stage continuous countercurrent extraction in an extraction clarifier according to the volume ratio of 1. Continuously washing the lithium-loaded organic phase in an extraction clarifying tank by using 0.8mol/L hydrochloric acid to wash the co-extracted sodium in a volume ratio of 10; and (3) carrying out back extraction on the washed organic matters in an extraction clarifying tank by using 7mol/L hydrochloric acid according to the volume ratio of 10. The organic phase after the back extraction is returned to the extraction section for recycling. The lithium chloride solution was precipitated at 80 ℃ with sodium carbonate in an amount 0.7 times the stoichiometric ratio of lithium to obtain battery grade lithium carbonate with a purity of > 99.6%.