7 ms·

is this similar to e3 metals?

jelliclesfarm 4y ago
Not really. E3 is in a wet region in Canada. California is a desert. This plan might fuck up California. How can they source potable fresh water for lithium extraction from brine without increasing salinity at Salton Sea? Also..we are in the midst of one of our scheduled droughts. I am sure there are real experts looking into this..and there is probably something that is in the plans to deal with this. Maybe someone more knowledgeable can throw some light on this. Lithium extraction needs fresh water throughout the recovery cycle.
- TSiege 4y ago
  The salton sea is a man made disaster. I couldn't see how it could be any worse than it is now. Given the dire climate situation we're in, it seems like a no brainer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TjGAWxL23c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TjGAWxL23c
  - idontwantthis 4y ago
    If it dries out completely it will be much much worse.
    - kurthr 4y ago
      Do you want to accidentally spill water from the Colorado into it again? https://allthatsinteresting.com/salton-sea-history https://allthatsinteresting.com/salton-sea-history
    - bombcar 4y ago
      We can always bring back Operation Plowshare and try to connect the Salton Sea to the Gulf of Mexico.
    - wsinks 4y ago
      Just out of curiousity, how would it get much worse? I wonder if it wouldn't make it better since a lot of the water seems to just be so salty it kills everything. Do you mean it'll just be drier and therefore suck more water out of the local ecosystem?
      - idontwantthis 4y ago
        It is full of toxic materials from agricultural runoff. If it dries out then that will become a gigantic dust cloud that will poison millions of people.
        throwaway1777 4y ago
        Source?
        wsinks 4y ago
        Thank you! I completely forgot about the agricultural runoff, that would make things worse.
    - TSiege 4y ago
      It's going to dry out completely either way
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- mullingitover 4y ago
  > How can they source potable fresh water for lithium extraction from brine without increasing salinity at Salton Sea? Also..we are in the midst of one of our scheduled droughts. There's a whole infographic in the article explaining this. > Hot brine is pumped up from deep underground, generating heat which is converted to electricity. Then, lithium is extracted from the brine before the fluid is injected back underground. Pretty brilliant, really. There's already a geothermal energy site right there, so the whole lithium mining business could potentially be powered with zero emissions. If they really do need freshwater, there's a ton of it - the Colorado River Aqueduct goes right by the Salton Sea. In fact, that's how it was created in the first place.
  - jelliclesfarm 4y ago
    Right. What about salinity of the brine?
    - elihu 4y ago
      The brine is injected back underground, quite a bit cooler and minus some amount of lithium and chloride.
    - wlesieutre 4y ago
      They take out some of the lithium so the salinity of the brine is lowered a bit?
  - CameronNemo 4y ago
    The Colorado River doesn't have a lot of water by the time it gets to California, and the metropolises on the coast use a lot of it. If they really need freshwater for this, they will have to fight a lot of people for it.
    - kurthr 4y ago
      I'm sorry I just broke out into laughter... you have to fight the FARMERS for it. The people in those cities (with their green lawns, golf courses, cemetaries, and fountains) just get what's left. Maybe they get 10-20% of the Colorado flows?
- danans 4y ago
  > How can they source potable fresh water for lithium extraction Why would they use potable (AKA drinking) water for lithium extraction from the brine? Nothing in the described extraction process involves potable water.
  - jelliclesfarm 4y ago
    Lithium recovery requires fresh water. Tons of it. Using fresh water for lithium extraction is going to affect ..and take away from our potable water sources needed for the 40 something million CA residents.
    - danans 4y ago
      This will use little fresh water since the brine (water with dissolved lithium salts) already exists at the Salton Sea. Dry lithium mining like what happens in South America requires fresh water, not this.
- emkoemko 4y ago
  so is e3 a better method?

Not really. E3 is in a wet region in Canada. California is a desert. This plan might fuck up California. How can they source potable fresh water for lithium extraction from brine without increasing salinity at Salton Sea? Also..we are in the midst of one of our scheduled droughts. I am sure there are real experts looking into this..and there is probably something that is in the plans to deal with this. Maybe someone more knowledgeable can throw some light on this. Lithium extraction needs fresh water throughout the recovery cycle.

TSiege 4y ago
The salton sea is a man made disaster. I couldn't see how it could be any worse than it is now. Given the dire climate situation we're in, it seems like a no brainer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TjGAWxL23c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TjGAWxL23c
- idontwantthis 4y ago
  If it dries out completely it will be much much worse.
  - kurthr 4y ago
    Do you want to accidentally spill water from the Colorado into it again? https://allthatsinteresting.com/salton-sea-history https://allthatsinteresting.com/salton-sea-history
  - bombcar 4y ago
    We can always bring back Operation Plowshare and try to connect the Salton Sea to the Gulf of Mexico.
  - wsinks 4y ago
    Just out of curiousity, how would it get much worse? I wonder if it wouldn't make it better since a lot of the water seems to just be so salty it kills everything. Do you mean it'll just be drier and therefore suck more water out of the local ecosystem?
    - idontwantthis 4y ago
      It is full of toxic materials from agricultural runoff. If it dries out then that will become a gigantic dust cloud that will poison millions of people.
      - throwaway1777 4y ago
        Source?
      - wsinks 4y ago
        Thank you! I completely forgot about the agricultural runoff, that would make things worse.
  - TSiege 4y ago
    It's going to dry out completely either way
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
mullingitover 4y ago
> How can they source potable fresh water for lithium extraction from brine without increasing salinity at Salton Sea? Also..we are in the midst of one of our scheduled droughts. There's a whole infographic in the article explaining this. > Hot brine is pumped up from deep underground, generating heat which is converted to electricity. Then, lithium is extracted from the brine before the fluid is injected back underground. Pretty brilliant, really. There's already a geothermal energy site right there, so the whole lithium mining business could potentially be powered with zero emissions. If they really do need freshwater, there's a ton of it - the Colorado River Aqueduct goes right by the Salton Sea. In fact, that's how it was created in the first place.
- jelliclesfarm 4y ago
  Right. What about salinity of the brine?
  - elihu 4y ago
    The brine is injected back underground, quite a bit cooler and minus some amount of lithium and chloride.
  - wlesieutre 4y ago
    They take out some of the lithium so the salinity of the brine is lowered a bit?
- CameronNemo 4y ago
  The Colorado River doesn't have a lot of water by the time it gets to California, and the metropolises on the coast use a lot of it. If they really need freshwater for this, they will have to fight a lot of people for it.
  - kurthr 4y ago
    I'm sorry I just broke out into laughter... you have to fight the FARMERS for it. The people in those cities (with their green lawns, golf courses, cemetaries, and fountains) just get what's left. Maybe they get 10-20% of the Colorado flows?
danans 4y ago
> How can they source potable fresh water for lithium extraction Why would they use potable (AKA drinking) water for lithium extraction from the brine? Nothing in the described extraction process involves potable water.
- jelliclesfarm 4y ago
  Lithium recovery requires fresh water. Tons of it. Using fresh water for lithium extraction is going to affect ..and take away from our potable water sources needed for the 40 something million CA residents.
  - danans 4y ago
    This will use little fresh water since the brine (water with dissolved lithium salts) already exists at the Salton Sea. Dry lithium mining like what happens in South America requires fresh water, not this.
emkoemko 4y ago
so is e3 a better method?