We are looking forward to presenting and exhibiting at AusIMM Critical Minerals Conference 2024 next week, 26-28 August in Brisbane, Australia.
Critical Minerals 2024 centres on the significant role of mining and processing of minerals essential to clean energy technologies for a more sustainable future. From rare earth processing to lithium and uranium extraction, SysCAD supports simulation of a wide range of technologies, including membrane, ion exchange, and electrochemical processes.
Kevin Heppner will present “Process Simulation of a Nanofiltration, Ion Exchange, and Electrodialysis Flowsheet for Lithium Production Using Fundamental Thermodynamic Modelling”. The paper is co-authored by Kaj Thomsen of Aqueous Solutions ApS, developer of AQSol.
In this work, a SysCAD model involving nanofiltration, direct lithium extraction, and electrodialysis is presented. The SysCAD TCE (Thermodynamic Calculation Engine) interface, incorporating both AQSol and PHREEQC, is used for stream properties, scaling propensity, and lithium extraction performance.
From a feed stream containing economic levels of lithium, nanofiltration is used for the separation of magnesium and other divalents. The product stream is fed to a direct lithium extraction circuit for isolation of lithium chloride which is then processed using electrodialysis to produce lithium hydroxide brine and hydrochloric acid. Through sensitivity analysis on operational and feed parameters, the benefits of these emerging technologies are analysed.
We invite you to visit us at our booth to discuss how SysCAD can support your process simulation needs, offering operators and designers valuable insights into the potential benefits and challenges of critical mineral processes.
