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geothermal brines with low lithium concentrations typically seen in most geothermal reservoirs in the United States. Lithium extraction from Salton Sea brines will benefit from cost reductions associated with increased sorbent selectivity for lithium with respect to competing ions such as sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium and from decreased pre-treatment requirements. There are other considerations to address with respect to long-term deployment of DLE technologies independent of improving the cost and efficiency of extraction. If it is presumed that operations will be co-located with geothermal power production, the potential effects of lithium extraction on geothermal reservoirs need to be investigated. Reservoir modeling will be necessary to understand the effects of potentially cooler injectate unless brine is heated after lithium extraction to power plant rejection temperature. Modeling of the interaction of Li- depleted injectate with the geothermal reservoir is necessary to understand the process of lithium re-saturation. Fracture controlled permeability and hydrothermal alteration potentially limit injectate’s contact with lithium-rich rocks (e.g., silicified selvages to permeable fractures). The reservoir residence time of injected fluid before it returns to a production well may limit the time for lithium re-saturation. Understanding of the distribution of lithium-bearing rocks in the reservoir will be necessary to optimize lithium re-saturation if production wells show declining concentrations of lithium over time. The distribution of lithium-bearing rocks in the reservoir might also contribute toward planning of well locations for new, hybrid geothermal power- lithium extraction developments. 5 Summary Lithium has been identified as a U.S. critical material. Lithium-rich geothermal brines represent a vast, untapped resource that can potentially be developed into a robust domestic supply. The most likely resource to be developed is at California’s Salton Sea, where geothermal brines contain up to 400 mg/kg lithium. DLE technologies represent a diverse array of techniques that might be deployed to extract lithium from brines, including Salton Sea geothermal brine, and these techniques present an opportunity to increase sustainability and reduce overall impacts when compared to traditional evaporative pond and hardrock mining methods for producing lithium. Several projects are underway that plan to use DLE technologies to extract lithium from brines, including geothermal brines. The most lithium-rich geothermal brines in the United States are at the Salton Sea, and demonstrations have and are focused on ion-exchange sorbents as the best technique to mine lithium from Salton Sea fluids. Though public data do not include detailed costs and performance, pilot tests at the Salton Sea undertaken by Simbol and EnergySource in the 2010s represent the most advanced level attained along the path to commercialization of lithium extraction from geothermal brines in the United States. EnergySource is planning deployment at commercial scale based on the results of its lithium extraction pilot testing. A range of research shows that a viable lithium extraction process must be tuned to the physical and chemical conditions of the exploited geothermal reservoir, and available public information suggests that production costs may be near $4,000/mt LCE. Three Salton Sea operators are pursuing lithium extraction commercialization, and these projects offer the potential to demonstrate whether commercialization is feasible. EnergySource and Controlled Thermal 22 This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) at www.nrel.gov/publications.PDF Image | Lithium Extraction from Geothermal Brines
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Product and Development Focus for Infinity Turbine
ORC Waste Heat Turbine and ORC System Build Plans: All turbine plans are $10,000 each. This allows you to build a system and then consider licensing for production after you have completed and tested a unit.Redox Flow Battery Technology: With the advent of the new USA tax credits for producing and selling batteries ($35/kW) we are focussing on a simple flow battery using shipping containers as the modular electrolyte storage units with tax credits up to $140,000 per system. Our main focus is on the salt battery. This battery can be used for both thermal and electrical storage applications. We call it the Cogeneration Battery or Cogen Battery. One project is converting salt (brine) based water conditioners to simultaneously produce power. In addition, there are many opportunities to extract Lithium from brine (salt lakes, groundwater, and producer water).Salt water or brine are huge sources for lithium. Most of the worlds lithium is acquired from a brine source. It's even in seawater in a low concentration. Brine is also a byproduct of huge powerplants, which can now use that as an electrolyte and a huge flow battery (which allows storage at the source).We welcome any business and equipment inquiries, as well as licensing our turbines for manufacturing.| CONTACT TEL: 608-238-6001 Email: greg@infinityturbine.com | RSS | AMP |