KR20160002579A - Method for preparing lithium sulfate - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a preparing method of lithium sulfate. In an embodiment of the present invention, provide is a preparing method of lithium sulfate, which comprises: a step of injecting lithium phosphate (Li_3PO_4) to a solvent in which lithium sulfate is insoluble; a step of injecting sulfuric acid (H_2SO_4) to the solvent; a step of extracting lithium sulfate (Li_2SO_4) as a result of a reaction between the lithium phosphate and the sulfuric acid and generating phosphoric acid (H_3PO_4); and a step of separating the extracted lithium sulfate. In an embodiment of the present invention, provided is a preparing method of lithium sulfate to immediately extract lithium sulfate using an organic solvent and to prevent secondary contamination by using sulfuric acid in place of other cations. In addition, the method of the present invention uses ethanol as a solvent with low distillation temperature to enable recovery of phosphoric acid from a remaining solution.

Description

METHOD FOR PREPARING LITHIUM SULFATE [0002]

One embodiment of the present invention relates to a process for preparing lithium sulphate.

Lithium sulfate is widely used in various industries.

Lithium carbonate is used for the production of lithium sulfate. Lithium carbonate is mainly produced by precipitation by concentrating lithium hydroxide-containing salt water by natural evaporation. The saline solution contains about 0.5 g / L to 2.0 g / L of lithium, and the solubility of lithium carbonate is 13.2 g / liter. Therefore, it is necessary to concentrate the lithium carbonate in the form of lithium carbonate.

In order to precipitate and recover lithium from lithium chloride in brine, the brine is naturally evaporated to concentrate lithium to about 6 wt%, which requires a very large site and a long period of time of more than 12 months. In addition, there is also a disadvantage in that the recovery rate of lithium is extremely low.

On the other hand, when extracting lithium from spodumene (4SiO ₂ .Al ₂ O ₃ .Li ₂ O) which is a lithium-containing ore, there is a method of producing lithium sulfate by using sulfuric acid. That is, when the lithium-containing ore is treated with sulfuric acid, lithium is dissolved in lithium sulfate. The thus-obtained lithium leaching solution is concentrated again, and lithium sulfate having two water molecules is obtained. In order to produce dihydrate lithium sulfate (Li ₂ SO ₄ .2H ₂ O) in an aqueous solution of lithium sulfate, all of the solution must be removed, resulting in high cost and low productivity.

An embodiment of the present invention is to provide a method for producing lithium sulfate capable of instantly precipitating lithium sulfate using an organic solvent.

One embodiment of the present invention is a method for producing lithium secondary battery comprising the steps of: injecting lithium phosphate (Li ₃ PO ₄ ) into a solvent insoluble in lithium sulfate; Introducing sulfuric acid (H ₂ SO ₄ ) into the solvent; Lithium sulfate (Li ₂ SO ₄ ) is precipitated by the reaction between the lithium phosphate and the sulfuric acid to generate phosphoric acid (H ₃ PO ₄ ); And separating the precipitated lithium sulfate. The present invention also provides a method for producing lithium sulfate.

The solvent may be insoluble in lithium sulfate and dissolve phosphoric acid.

The amount of the solvent relative to 0.1 moles of lithium phosphate may be 100 mL to 120 mL.

The molar ratio of sulfuric acid to lithium phosphate may be 1.5.

The reaction may be carried out at a pH of 1 to 1.5.

Separating the precipitated lithium sulfate; Thereafter, the lithium sulfate may be washed and then dried.

Separating the precipitated lithium sulfate; Thereafter, recovering the solvent from the solvent containing the phosphoric acid may be further included.

The step of recovering the solvent from the solvent containing phosphoric acid may be carried out by vacuum distillation.

Recovering the solvent from the phosphoric acid-containing solvent; Thereafter, it may further comprise extracting the phosphoric acid.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a process for producing lithium sulfate capable of instantly precipitating lithium sulfate using an organic solvent.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a process for producing lithium sulfate which can prevent secondary contamination by using sulfuric acid which is not another cation to obtain lithium sulfate, can obtain lithium sulfate of high purity, do.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a process for producing lithium sulfate capable of recovering phosphoric acid from the remaining solution by using ethanol having a low distillation temperature as a solvent.

1 is a schematic diagram showing the reaction of Li ₃ PO ₄ and H ₂ SO ₄ introduced into an ethanol solvent.
2 is a view showing a state in which 2 mol of H ₂ SO ₄ is put in [Table 1].
3 is a view showing a state in which _2.5 mol of H ₂ SO ₄ is put in Table 1.
4 is a view showing a state in which 3 mol of H ₂ SO ₄ is put in [Table 1].
5 is a graph showing the results of analysis of filtrate components after the reaction depending on the amount of sulfuric acid.
6 is a graph showing the results of XRD mineral phase analysis of the precipitate.
7 is a configuration diagram showing an apparatus for recovering ethanol and phosphoric acid.
8 is a graph showing FT-IR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) analysis results of recovered ethanol.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the present invention is only defined by the scope of the following claims.

Lithium sulfate (Li ₂ SO ₄ ) dissolves very well in water with a solubility of about 35 g / 100 ml. Therefore, lithium sulfate can not be precipitated in the solution. Therefore, a method of directly converting sulfuric acid into insoluble lithium compounds (Li ₂ O, Li ₂ CO ₃ , and Li ₃ PO ₄ ) should be used. In this case, lithium sulfate should be crystallized through an evaporation process.

Of the three lithium compounds listed above, lithium phosphate (Li ₃ PO ₄ ) is the only compound that can not be converted to lithium sulfate. The carbonate ion of lithium carbonate (Li ₂ CO ₃ ) is removed by the carbon dioxide gas to obtain lithium sulfate, whereas when the acid is added to the lithium phosphate, the phosphate ion (PO ₄ ^3- ) coexists with the lithium sulfate in the solution as phosphoric acid Therefore, separation is impossible.

However, when an organic solvent in which lithium sulfate is insoluble is used as a solvent, lithium sulfate can be easily obtained.

(A) introducing lithium phosphate (Li ₃ PO ₄ ) into a solvent insoluble in lithium sulfate; (b) adding sulfuric acid (H ₂ SO ₄ ) to the solvent; (c) precipitating lithium sulfate (Li ₂ SO ₄ ) by reaction between the lithium phosphate and the sulfuric acid to produce phosphoric acid (H ₃ PO ₄ ); And (d) separating the precipitated lithium sulfate.

(D) separating the precipitated lithium sulfate; Thereafter, the separated lithium sulfate may be washed with the solvent and then dried.

At this time, the solvent is insoluble in lithium sulfate, and dissolves phosphoric acid. As an example, the solvent may be ethanol as an organic solvent.

First, in the step (a) of adding lithium phosphate (Li ₃ PO ₄ ) to a solvent insoluble in lithium sulfate, the amount of the solvent relative to 0.1 mol of the lithium phosphate (Li ₃ PO ₄ ) is preferably 100 mL to 120 mL .

If lithium phosphate (Li ₃ PO ₄₎ is less than the amount of the solvent for 0.1 mol 100mL has become a problem as it was stirred, in the case of more than 120mL, there is a problem in that unnecessary energy use during the solvent recovery.

Further, in the step (b) of adding sulfuric acid (H ₂ SO ₄ ) to the solvent, the molar ratio of sulfuric acid to the charged lithium phosphate is preferably 1.5.

When the molar ratio of sulfuric acid to lithium phosphate is less than 1.5, unreacted phosphorus (P) remains as impurities in the solution. If the molar ratio of sulfuric acid to lithium phosphate is less than 1.5, unreacted sulfur (S) is dissolved in the solution.

At this time, the sulfuric acid may be dilute sulfuric acid. In the case of dilute sulfuric acid, the volume ratio (v / v) of sulfuric acid to dilute sulfuric acid is preferably 80 vol% of DI water and 20 vol% of 98% sulfuric acid.

(c) a step in which lithium sulfate (Li ₂ SO ₄ ) precipitates and phosphoric acid (H ₃ PO ₄ ) is produced by the reaction between the lithium phosphate and the sulfuric acid, It is preferable that the reaction is carried out under the reaction conditions of pH 1 to 1.5 within a temperature range of 25 to 25 占 폚 for about 1 hour to 2 hours.

First, the reaction can be sufficiently carried out without further heating at room temperature, but the temperature may rise to 30 to 35 ° C due to the heat of decomposition of lithium phosphate by sulfuric acid during the reaction. At this time, since the volatilization of the solvent is also accelerated when the temperature rises, it is preferable that the reactor is formed in a sealed form in order to prevent it.

The acidity (pH) of sulfuric acid is 5 ~ 5.5 before the addition of sulfuric acid, and 1 ~ 1.5 when sulfuric acid is added. This does not cause a problem in the reuse because the pH of the recovered solvent is again near to neutral at about 4.5 in the step of recovering the solvent from the solvent containing phosphoric acid described later.

On the other hand, the reaction time may vary slightly depending on the method of reacting or the amount of the reaction.

(D) separating the precipitated lithium sulfate; Thereafter, the method may further include a step of recovering the solvent from the solvent containing the phosphoric acid. At this time, the step of recovering the solvent can be carried out by vacuum distillation, and the reduced pressure distillation will be described later in Experimental Example 2.

The temperature at the time of the reduced pressure distillation is 70 DEG C and the pressure is preferably 350 mbar, but is not limited thereto. Here, the temperature will be the boiling point of the solvent.

Recovering the solvent from the phosphoric acid-containing solvent; Thereafter, phosphoric acid can be extracted from the concentrate and recovered.

Hereinafter, an experimental example of the present invention will be described. However, the following experimental examples are only illustrative of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the following experimental examples.

Experimental Example  One

1 is a schematic diagram showing the reaction of Li ₃ PO ₄ and H ₂ SO ₄ introduced into an ethanol solvent.

Referring to FIG. 1, 2 mol of Li ₃ PO ₄ was suspended in 100 mL of ethanol, and the amount of H ₂ SO ₄ was increased to 1, 1.25, and 1.5 molar ratio relative to Li ₃ PO ₄ , as shown in the following reaction formula.

Reaction: 2 Li ₃ PO ₄  + 2 / 2.5 / 3 mol H ₂ SO ₄  -> 3 Li ₂ SO ₄ · H ₂ O (↓) + 2H ₃ PO ₄ ( aq )

[Table 1] shows experimental conditions, and FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 show the states when 2 mol, _2.5 mol, and 3 mol of H ₂ SO ₄ are put in Table 1, respectively.

H ₂ SO ₄ 2mol H ₂ SO ₄ 2.5 mol H ₂ SO ₄ 3mol Temperature (℃) 23.68 23.68 23.68 menstruum ethanol ethanol ethanol Start pH 5.38 5.38 5.38 Reaction time 1 hours 1 hours 1 hours

evaluation

Analysis of filtrate components after reaction

Li ₃ PO ₄ and H ₂ SO After separation of the ₄ reaction of Li ₂ SO ₄ produced by the, dissolved in the remaining ethanol solution Li, the concentration of P, Spectro Arcos's using a high frequency induction coupled plasma ICP (Inductively Coupled Plasma) were analyzed.

Precipitate  Component analysis

Separated Li ₂ SO ₄ was washed with ethanol and dried at 100 ° C. for 24 hours to perform XRD mineral analysis. At the same time, purity analysis was performed by ICP analysis using Spectro Arcos high frequency inductively coupled plasma.

Evaluation results

After filtration,

5 is a graph showing the results of analysis of filtrate components after the reaction depending on the amount of sulfuric acid. Referring to FIG. 5, it can be seen that the closer to 3 mol of sulfuric acid is, the more the Li ₃ PO ₄ is decomposed and the Li precipitates in the form of Li ₂ SO ₄ . It can be seen that P is dissolved in ethanol in the form of H ₃ PO ₄ .

Precipitate  Component analysis result

6 is a graph showing the results of the mineral phase analysis of the precipitate. Referring to FIG. 6, it can be confirmed that the precipitate is Li ₂ SO ₄ single phase.

It was presumed that Li ₂ SO ₄ .H ₂ O having one water molecule at the beginning of the precipitate, but anhydrous Li ₂ SO ₄ in which H ₂ O was blown was obtained through the drying process.

[Table 2] shows the results of analyzing the purity after washing the precipitate.

At this time, washing is performed with ethanol, and ethanol for washing is divided into three portions of 50% ethanol solvent for the reaction. Washing water can be reused by distillation together with the reaction water.

[Table 2] shows that Na and P are present as major impurities, and the final purity is 99% or more.

B Ca Mg Li Na K P Fe S water <0.005 0.052 0.0026 11.54 0.13 0.002 0.18 0.006 27.96 99% or more

Table 3 shows the conversion of Li ₃ PO ₄ to Li ₂ SO ₄ . Conversion of the charged Li ₃ PO ₄ to Li ₂ SO ₄ was found to be at least 90%.

Li ₃ PO ₄ input Analytical Minerals Li ₂ SO ₄ Production amount water Conversion Rate 0.2 mol Li ₂ SO ₄ Everyday 30g / 33.4g
(Amount of Li ₂ SO ₄ at 100% conversion) 99.6 over 90

Experimental Example  2

The ethanol used as the solvent in the above-described Experimental Example 1 is recovered by distillation.

An apparatus for the recovery of ethanol and phosphoric acid is schematically shown in Fig. Referring to FIG. 7, at a temperature of 70 DEG C at which ethanol is distilled, the pressure is reduced to 350 mbar and recovered. At this time, the precipitate is recovered together with ethanol used for washing. Concentrate is in the concentrate can be obtained for 80% of H ₃ PO _4.

evaluation

Analysis of components of recovered ethanol

8 is a graph showing FT-IR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) analysis results of recovered ethanol.

Referring to FIG. 8, FT-IR analysis of the recovered ethanol showed a spectrum similar to that of standard ethanol, and no deterioration due to an excessive supply of protons occurred. Therefore, the recovered ethanol can be reused.

P Li S Recovered ethanol 0.095 g / L 0.003 g / L 0.024 g / L

[Table 4] shows the results of component analysis of recovered ethanol.

[Table 4] Referring to Table 4, the recovered ethanol contains less than about 100 ppm of phosphorus and sulfur, but it is unlikely to be affected if it is reused as a solvent for the present reaction. The recovered ethanol was 70% recovered in the laboratory, but it is estimated that more than 90% of the recovered ethanol will be recovered using specialized equipment to recover the ethanol.

Analysis of components of recovered phosphoric acid

[Table 5] shows the analysis results of the components of the recovered phosphoric acid.

P Li S Recovered phosphoric acid 133.9 g / L 4.24 g / L 20.09 g / L

As shown in Table 5, the recovered phosphoric acid can be reused for the purpose of precipitating lithium from brine. The recovery rate of phosphoric acid recovered is more than 70%, and it is expected that more than 90% of recovered phosphorus can be recovered even in the washed ethanol.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims. As will be understood by those skilled in the art. It is therefore to be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all aspects and not restrictive.

Claims (9)

Introducing lithium phosphate (Li ₃ PO ₄ ) into a solvent insoluble in lithium sulfate;
Introducing sulfuric acid (H ₂ SO ₄ ) into the solvent;
Lithium sulfate (Li ₂ SO ₄ ) is precipitated by the reaction between the lithium phosphate and the sulfuric acid to generate phosphoric acid (H ₃ PO ₄ ); And
Separating the precipitated lithium sulfate
&Lt; / RTI &gt;
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the solvent is insoluble in lithium sulfate and dissolves phosphoric acid.
3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the amount of the solvent relative to 0.1 mole of the lithium phosphate is 100 ml to 120 ml.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the molar ratio of the sulfuric acid to the lithium phosphate is 1.5.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the reaction is carried out at a pH of 1 to 1.5.
The method according to claim 1,
Separating the precipitated lithium sulfate; Since the,
Washing the lithium sulfate, and then drying the lithium sulfate.
The method according to claim 1,
Separating the precipitated lithium sulfate; Since the,
And recovering the solvent from the solvent containing the phosphoric acid.
8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the step of recovering the solvent from the phosphoric acid-containing solvent is carried out by vacuum distillation.
9. The method of claim 8,
Recovering the solvent from the phosphoric acid-containing solvent; Thereafter, the method further comprises extracting the phosphoric acid.

Images