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Direct lithium extraction from brine currently undisturbed sites Where direct lithium extraction from brine is proposed yet no current industrial facility exists, the building of such a facility would constitute a new environmental impact to lands and waters. Vegetation and soils would be removed or damaged by earth-moving equipment and habitat that supports plants and animals would be destroyed as lands are converted from a natural state to an industrial site to accommodate the creation of a new DLE facility. These disturbances may introduce non- native, invasive species to the project site including pests and pathogens, and these may spread beyond the project site and impact surrounding undisturbed lands and waters. Species dependent on hot spring and geothermal spring systems may be put at risk when new geothermal development of an aquifer occurs, as development can cause changes in waterflow, chemistry, or temperature that would make the habitat unsuitable for the species adapted to it. Groundwater and surface water contamination may occur, and would depend on the materials used both in the building of the facility, materials used in the DLE process, groundwater extraction locations and quantities relative to nearby habitat and natural resources, and the disposal pathways for waste materials. Newly disturbed sites are subject to erosion of soils by wind and precipitation, and sedimentation of nearby surface waters and altering of natural hydrology are particular concerns for construction sites. Wind erosion can negatively impact air quality, which may cause harm to plants, animals, and people. The resulting dust issues may require additional groundwater pumping to acquire water for dust suppression and potentially, to desalinize soils or plants. Noise and visual disturbances associated with the building of a new facility may impact wildlife in numerous ways, including the disruption of movement or other behaviors required for survival. Other than the new disturbances to lands and waters caused by the building of a new industrial facility, the impacts of DLE from brine at currently undisturbed sites would be similar to the impacts of DLE from brine at pre-existing industrial sites. Evaporative concentration of lithium from brine A project that proposes evaporative concentration of lithium from brine may result in some of the same impacts as those that would occur where direct extraction from brine is proposed. These include the impacts to vegetation, soils, plants, and animals mentioned above, depending on the type of facilities built at the site. The large footprint of the evaporative ponds at existing sites at Silver Peak, Nevada, and elsewhere in the world demonstrates that this extraction technology requires the conversion of many acres of wildlands to industrial use. Additionally, evaporative concentration has the potential to deplete both ground and surface waters. This extraction type is, by necessity, employed in arid areas to facilitate the process of evaporation. Enhancing the evaporative process also has the effect of increasing salinity over time as the fraction of water evaporated is pure H2O, leaving behind saline waters at the surface with increasing salinity that may affect local ecosystems. These types of operations are typically in desert areas where water is naturally scarce, making consumptive use of water particularly problematic for the plants, animals, and natural communities that depend on groundwater and surface water resources. HARD ROCK AND CLAY Surface mining: strip mining and open pit mining Surface mining removes rocks or clays at the land surface to expose, recover, and extract lithium-containing materials. Surface mining constitutes a dramatic and intense disturbance and conversion of natural lands at the landscape scale. There are a variety of types of surface mining, but those used for the extraction of lithium include strip mining of surface materials, and open pit mining. Each of these may result in different types and intensities of disturbance to lands and waters, and to the plants, animals, and natural communities originally occurring at and around the extraction site. Excavation of material using surface mining may result in some of the same impacts as those that would occur where direct extraction from brine is proposed yet no current industrial facility exists, or where evaporative concentration of brine is proposed. These include the impacts to vegetation, soils, plants, and animals mentioned above, depending on the type of facilities built at the site. Project sites where hard rock or clay is excavated by strip mining of surface materials, or through the creation of an open pit, have the potential to be particularly damaging to the environment. Because lithium is often available at low concentrations, the amount of material needed to be mined to recover appreciable amounts of lithium can be high. Surface Potential Lithium Extraction in the United States: Environmental, Economic, and Policy Implications 16 AUGUST 2022PDF Image | Potential Lithium Extraction in the United States
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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 |