Silica-supported ionic liquids as efficient materials to separate cobalt and nickel from lithium in aqueous solutions

abstract

Lithium (Li+), cobalt (Co2+), and nickel (Ni2+) are critical elements used in various types of lithium-ion batteries, including those in electric vehicles and other industrial applications. Given the increasing demand for these materials and their risk of scarcity, it is important to develop technologies that can efficiently extract these metals from secondary sources, such as industrial effluents, rather than focusing solely on spent batteries. This study addresses the preparation and evaluation of an imidazolium-based supported ionic liquid (SIL) for the selective removal of citrate-coordinated Co2+ and Ni2+ from aqueous solutions, obtaining a solution predominantly containing Li+. Optimal sorption conditions were identified using Response Surface Methodology (RSM), with pH 7.8, 1.5 g/L SIL, and 0.4 mg/L metals yielding removal efficiencies of 95 % of Co2+ and Ni2+ in just 2 h. The SIL showed high performance in ultra-pure and bottled waters, but efficiency declined in saline matrices due to the competition with other ions. Ecotoxicity tests using the bioindicator species Mytilus galloprovincialis revealed no adverse effects at concentrations up to 1 g/L. These results demonstrate the SIL's potential for sustainable and selective recovery of critical metals from low-salinity industrial effluents and other secondary aqueous sources.

keywords

RECOVERY; OPTIMIZATION; ADSORPTION; REMOVAL; DESIGN; PHASE

subject category

Science & Technology - Other Topics; Energy & Fuels; Materials Science

authors

Almeida, JC; Cardoso, CED; Freitas, R; Trindade, T; Freire, MG; Pereira, E

Groups

G1 - Porous Materials and Nanosystems
G4 - Renewable Materials and Circular Economy
G5 - Biomimetic, Biological and Living Materials

Projects

Collaboratory for Emerging Technologies, CoLab (EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES)

CICECO - Aveiro Institute of Materials (UIDB/50011/2020)

CICECO - Aveiro Institute of Materials (UIDP/50011/2020)

Associated Laboratory CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials (LA/P/0006/2020)

Rede Nacional de Ressonância Magnética Nuclear (PTNMR)

acknowledgements

This work is funded by national funds through FCT - Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia I.P., under the project/grant UID/50006 + LA/P/0094/2020, UIDB/50006/2020, UIDP/50006/2020, and LA/P/0008/2020. This work was also developed within the scope of the project CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, UIDB/50011/2020 (DOI 10.544 99/UIDB/50011/2020) , UIDP/50011/2020 (DOI 10.54499/UIDP/5 0011/2020) and LA/P/0006/2020 (DOI 10.54499/LA/P/0006/2020) , financed by national funds through the FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) . This work was also funded by national funds through FCT - Fundaca o para a Cie ncia e a Tecnologia I.P., under the project/grant UID/50006 + LA/P/0094/2020 (doi.org/10.54499/LA/P/0094/2020) . The NMR spec-trometers are part of the National NMR Network (PTNMR) and are partially supported by Infrastructure Project N degrees 022161 (co-financed by FEDER through COMPETE 2020, POCI and PORL and FCT through PIDDAC) . Joana C. Almeida thanks FCT/MCTES and ESF (European Social Fund) through NORTE 2020 (Programa Operacional Regia o Norte) for the PhD grant SFRH/BD/139471/2018. Celso E. D. Cardoso thank FCT/MCTES (Fundaca o para a Cie ncia e Tecnologia and Minis-te rio da Cie ncia, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior) and ESF (European So-cial Fund) through NORTE 2020 (Programa Operacional Regia o Norte) for the PhD grant 2021.06684.BD.