The paper from 1985 involves first roasting the pelletized lithium clay for a few hours at around 900F using a gas fired roaster, which isn't great for atmosphe

The paper from 1985 involves first roasting the pelletized lithium clay for a few hours at around 900F using a gas fired roaster, which isn't great for atmospheric CO2. The new patent claims to use a new(?) discovery of ion-exchange that selectively extracts lithium from the clay, at temps from 20-100C. (Page 8 of the patent, under the "Detailed Description" section.) This seems much less carbon polluting. If we're going to exploit the earth's resources at all, might as well do it in a way that minimizes the carbon.