Tech One advises they have signed a facility fee agreement to utilize the
Ekosolve™ lithium Solvent Exchange Extraction process that can efficiently manage the processing of the brines to produce lithium carbonate with a grade higher than 99.2% and a recovery of 97% far exceeding any ion exchange or adsorption process available to date. Ekosolve™ is licensed to University of Melbourne, Australia.
The key advantage of the Ekosolve system is the high rate of lithium yield at 97% and 95% of the solvent is reclaimed. Other systems such as adsorption achieve 72-80%, fractional crystallization 50-70%, and ion exchange up to 90%. In adsorption and ion exchange extra processes may be required to manage the magnesium and boron in the brines whereas this is not an issue with the Ekosolve process. Hence the capital and operation expenditure is usually much lower. There are no ponds required which is a more eco-friendly solution.