Sustainable Lithium Practices in the Aluminum Industry: A Review of Current Technologies and Future Potentials

Bauxite serves as the principal source material for alumina production worldwide. Lithium, along with other valuable elements such as gallium, titanium, and scandium, is often found in association with bauxite, influenced by a mix of hydrogeological, volcanic, climatic, and weathering processes. In the alumina production process from bauxite, a considerable portion of lithium remains in the residual mother liquor. This presence has been linked to potential negative impacts on the quality of aluminum and its electrolysis process, leading to lithium being traditionally considered an impurity in the aluminum production process. Nowadays, the presence of lithium in the Bayer solution poses a significant challenge due to its vast implications on technological progress, the global economy, and various aspects of human life. Future research should focus on developing a method for the concurrent recovery of lithium and aluminum, eliminating the necessity to dispose of either element. It is crucial to explore a method for recycling and processing used aluminum electrodes with high lithium content.