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indicated that it remains optimistic about balancing the future water needs of lithium extraction with those of agriculture. Air quality is a serious concern, as geothermal plants produce steam. An environmental stakeholder commented that if steam is 99% water vapor, the other 1% is potentially significant in terms of total pollutant loading from the estimated large quantities of geothermal and lithium production. They noted, “whatever is downwind will be affected. If it blows over a habitat, it’s going to affect species.” Transportation emissions are an additional concern. Imperial county already has some of the worst air quality in the state (Singh 2021). Adding diesel emissions could further exacerbate air quality. There was also concern about the waste products generated from DLE, if waste is toxic, and how it would be disposed. Questions about air quality and waste disposal remain unanswered to many community and environmental groups. The totality of impacts may not be known yet, with one environmental stakeholder indicating, “we don't know what the actual environmental impacts could be or how much. There are a lot of questions that have not been answered and won't be answered until they actually get these demonstration projects up and running.” Another stakeholder also mentioned that since DLE technologies are not being disclosed, how could they analyze environmental impacts associated with extraction technologies? In sum, several of those interviewed saw the overall impacts of lithium extraction in the Salton Sea region as potentially small. Environmental stakeholders did not believe extraction was entirely benign, but still believed any issues could be properly mitigated. Not knowing the overall impacts associated with extraction, they were curious as to what those impacts were going to be and how the state and industry would mitigate them. As one environmental consultant concluded, “these associated industries can be developed in a way where they mitigate their impacts but we need to figure how to contain it, how to reduce the risks associated for communities, and be honest about it.” Salton Sea Restoration and Human Health The lingering consequences of the Salton Sea’s receding shoreline, combined with mismanaged agricultural policy, are detrimental to both human health and economic livelihoods in the region. According to some stakeholders, lithium extraction could play an active role in the rehabilitation of the Salton Sea. Several stakeholders were even optimistic about opportunities to link restoration, industry, and the state into a broader deal that would improve conditions in the region. However, environmental stakeholders cautioned that geothermal and lithium producing entities were not responsible for the poor condition of the Salton Sea region. They noted, “the burden for solving that health issue shouldn't be placed solely on the backs of the geothermal or lithium industries, because they're not responsible. We need to look at the agricultural industry.” Even though environmental restoration was seen as important for stakeholders, it was seen as a lower priority than human health and economic development. However, restoration could become a priority if lithium extraction gains a strong foothold, as the battery manufacturing industry may seek to co- locate in the Imperial or Coachella Valleys. As one stakeholder noted, “you can’t have the industry in the area if you don’t fix the health situation, we can’t bring thousands of people here and give them all asthma.” Multiple stakeholders, including all community and environmental stakeholders, indicated it should be the state’s responsibility and wanted the state to take a more active role in habitat restoration. Review Processes Stakeholders expressed a variety of opinions on the current regulatory framework and review process, expressing trust in the system while maintaining that the state needs more capacity and needs to follow its own rules. The review process itself is unfolding now, so ideas and policies about the process are still in formation. There is a strong level of trust in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) processes. One community advocate commented, “one of the best protections will have been, among others, CEQA and NEPA. It gives the community the power to file suits if we find that there are failures in the decisions of the permitting process. The communities need to maintain that power.” Another researcher stated, “we don’t need more laws, we just need to enforce the laws we have.” Potential Lithium Extraction in the United States: Environmental, Economic, and Policy Implications 55 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 (Standard Web Page)