4 ms·
Acquiring sodium wrecks the landscape to the exact same extent as does lithium extraction. The only differences between them are 1) we already wrecked all the t
by jeffbee 3y ago
Acquiring sodium wrecks the landscape to the exact same extent as does lithium extraction. The only differences between them are 1) we already wrecked all the territory for sodium, so fallacious sunk-cost thinking kicks in, and 2) there is not (yet) a dedicated astroturf campaign funded by oil companies against sodium.
- chris_va 3y agoSaltwater
- RandomLensman 3y agoMuch easier to get sodium than lithium, concentration is much higher and there is much more sodium than lithium in/on the earth's crust. Salt for batteries might also be a tougher target for any campaigns against it.
- biomcgary 3y agoWe just need to combine desalination for drinking water with sodium extraction for batteries. Solves some of the ecological problems from doing each in isolation.
- fooker 3y agoThis requires a massive amount of electricity, unrealistic until maybe fusion is commonplace.
- margalabargala 3y agoWhat would be the additional massive amount of energy usage to capture the sodium output of the many, many already existing and economical desalination plants?
- jes5199 3y agosolar is getting cheaper so fast that we'll be able to do desalination in a few years
- fooker 3y agoYou have to split the salt molecule too.
- Tuna-Fish 3y agoThe energy cost of desalinization is a solved problem, thanks to very efficient modern membranes and solar.
- fooker 3y agoThere is an additional step here - electrolysis to separate sodium and chlorine. The energy cost of that is not a solved problem.
- Tagbert 3y agoTrue but the mass of lithium or sodium in a battery is limited. A Tesla Model S which has a large battery uses 62.6 kg (about 130 pounds) of lithium. You only need to separate that once. This limits the amount of energy needed to produce that battery. That is unlike the ongoing energy needed to refine the gasoline in an ICEV.
- floxy 3y agoWhat do you with the chlorine? PVC? Pool cleaners? Bleach? Rocket propellant? Others? What opportunities might arise with an abundance of cheap chlorine? Probably want to stay away from chlorofluorocarbons.
- marcosdumay 3y agoThat's a good question. It is already quite cheap, so I'm not sure it won't be waste. I also don't know what chlorine waste looks like. Maybe react it with iron to do sea-seeding?
- fsckboy 3y ago> I also don't know what chlorine waste looks like it looks like a poisonous gas attack from WWI, subsequently declared a war crime.
- jillesvangurp 3y agoAbsolute nonsense. Our oceans are full of Sodium in very high concentrations. Sodium Choloride, aka. NaCl, aka kitchen salt. About 11 grams per kg in ocean water. And about 90 grams in the average human body. Lots of salt deposits in former salt lakes, mineral deposits, etc. Neither scarce nor hard to harvest. You would literally die without sodium in your body. Very common mineral and pretty easy to get to.
- pfdietz 3y agoAnd there are mass quantities of sodium underground, in salt and anhydrite layers.