Names | |
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IUPAC name Lithium carbonate | |
Other names Dilithium carbonate, Carbolith, Cibalith-S, Duralith, Eskalith, Lithane, Lithizine, Lithobid, Lithonate, Lithotabs Priadel, Zabuyelite | |
Identifiers | |
3D model (JSmol) | |
ChEBI | |
ChEMBL | |
ChemSpider | |
ECHA InfoCard | 100.008.239 |
KEGG | |
PubChem CID | |
RTECS number |
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UNII | |
CompTox Dashboard (EPA) | |
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Properties | |
Li 2CO 3 | |
Molar mass | 73.89 g/mol |
Appearance | Odorless white powder |
Density | 2.11 g/cm3 |
Melting point | 723 °C (1,333 °F; 996 K) |
Boiling point | 1,310 °C (2,390 °F; 1,580 K) Decomposes from ~1300 °C |
| |
Solubility product (Ksp) | 8.15×10−4 [2] |
Solubility | Insoluble in acetone, ammonia, alcohol [3] |
−27.0·10−6 cm3/mol | |
Refractive index (nD) | 1.428 [4] |
Viscosity |
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Thermochemistry | |
Heat capacity (C) | 97.4 J/mol·K [3] |
Std molar entropy (S⦵298) | 90.37 J/mol·K [3] |
Std enthalpy of formation (ΔfH⦵298) | −1215.6 kJ/mol [3] |
Gibbs free energy (ΔfG⦵) | −1132.4 kJ/mol [3] |
Hazards | |
Occupational safety and health (OHS/OSH): | |
Main hazards | Irritant |
GHS labelling: | |
[5] | |
Warning | |
H302, H319 [5] | |
P305+P351+P338 [5] | |
Flash point | Non-flammable |
Lethal dose or concentration (LD, LC): | |
LD50 (median dose) | 525 mg/kg (oral, rat) [6] |
Safety data sheet (SDS) | ICSC 1109 |
Related compounds | |
Other cations | Sodium carbonate Potassium carbonate Rubidium carbonate Caesium carbonate |
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa). |
Lithium carbonate is an inorganic compound, the lithium salt of carbonic acid with the formula Li
2CO
3. This white salt is widely used in processing metal oxides. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines [7] for its efficacy in the treatment of mood disorders such as bipolar disorder. [8] [7]
Lithium carbonate is an important industrial chemical. Its main use is as a precursor to compounds used in lithium-ion batteries.
Glasses derived from lithium carbonate are useful in ovenware. Lithium carbonate is a common ingredient in both low-fire and high-fire ceramic glaze. It forms low-melting fluxes with silica and other materials. Its alkaline properties are conducive to changing the state of metal oxide colorants in glaze, particularly red iron oxide (Fe
2O
3). Cement sets more rapidly when prepared with lithium carbonate, and is useful for tile adhesives. When added to aluminium trifluoride, it forms LiF which yields a superior electrolyte for the processing of aluminium. [9]
Lithium carbonate-derived compounds are crucial to lithium-ion batteries. Lithium carbonate may be converted into lithium hydroxide as an intermediate. In practice, two components of the battery are made with lithium compounds: the cathode and the electrolyte. The electrolyte is a solution of lithium hexafluorophosphate, while the cathode uses one of several lithiated structures, the most popular of which are lithium cobalt oxide and lithium iron phosphate.
In 1843, lithium carbonate was used to treat stones in the bladder. In 1859, some doctors recommended a therapy with lithium salts for a number of ailments, including gout, urinary calculi, rheumatism, mania, depression, and headache.
In 1948, John Cade discovered the anti-manic effects of lithium ions. [10] This finding led to lithium carbonate's use as a psychiatric medication to treat mania, the elevated phase of bipolar disorder. Prescription lithium carbonate from a pharmacy is suitable for use as medicine in humans but industrial lithium carbonate is not since it may contain unsafe levels of toxic heavy metals or other toxicants. After ingestion, lithium carbonate is dissociated into pharmacologically active lithium ions (Li+) and (non-therapeutic) carbonate, with 300 mg of lithium carbonate containing approximately 8 mEq (8 mmol) of lithium ion. [8] According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 300–600 mg of lithium carbonate taken two to three times daily is typical for maintenance of bipolar I disorder in adults, [8] where the exact dose given varies depending on factors such as the patient's serum lithium concentrations, which must be closely monitored by a physician to avoid lithium toxicity and potential kidney damage (or even kidney failure) from lithium-induced nephrogenic diabetes insipidus. [11] [8] Dehydration and certain drugs, including NSAIDs such as ibuprofen, can increase serum lithium concentrations to unsafe levels whereas other drugs, such as caffeine, may decrease concentrations. In contrast to the elemental ions sodium, potassium, and calcium, there is no known cellular mechanism specifically dedicated to regulating intracellular lithium. Lithium can enter cells through epithelial sodium channels. [12] Lithium ions interfere with ion transport processes that relay and amplify messages carried to the cells of the brain. [13] Mania is associated with irregular increases in protein kinase C (PKC) activity within the brain. Lithium carbonate and sodium valproate, another drug traditionally used to treat the disorder, act in the brain by inhibiting PKC's activity and help to produce other compounds that also inhibit the PKC. [14] Lithium carbonate's mood-controlling properties are not fully understood. [15]
Taking lithium salts has risks and side effects. Extended use of lithium to treat mental disorders has been known to lead to acquired nephrogenic diabetes insipidus. [16] Lithium intoxication can affect the central nervous system and renal system and can be lethal. [17] Over a prolonged period, lithium can accumulate in the principal cells of the collecting duct and interfere with antidiuretic hormone (ADH), which regulates the water permeability of principal cells in the collecting tubule. [12] The medullary interstitium of the collecting duct system naturally has a high sodium concentration and attempts to maintain it. There is no known mechanism for cells to distinguish lithium ions from sodium ions, so damage to the kidney's nephrons may occur if lithium concentrations become too high as a result of dehydration, hyponatremia, an unusually low sodium diet, or certain drugs.
Lithium carbonate is used to impart a red color to fireworks. [18]
Unlike sodium carbonate, which forms at least three hydrates, lithium carbonate exists only in the anhydrous form. Its solubility in water is low relative to other lithium salts. The isolation of lithium from aqueous extracts of lithium ores capitalizes on this poor solubility. Its apparent solubility increases 10-fold under a mild pressure of carbon dioxide; this effect is due to the formation of the metastable lithium bicarbonate, which is more soluble: [9] [19]
The extraction of lithium carbonate at high pressures of CO
2 and its precipitation upon depressurizing is the basis of the Quebec process.
Lithium carbonate can also be purified by exploiting its diminished solubility in hot water. Thus, heating a saturated aqueous solution causes crystallization of Li
2CO
3. [20]
Lithium carbonate, and other carbonates of group 1, do not decarboxylate readily. Li
2CO
3 decomposes at temperatures around 1300 °C.
Lithium is extracted from primarily two sources: spodumene in pegmatite deposits, and lithium salts in underground brine pools. About 82,000 tons were produced in 2020, showing significant and consistent growth. [21]
In the Salar de Atacama in the Atacama desert of Northern Chile, lithium carbonate and hydroxide are produced from brine. [22] [23]
The process pumps lithium rich brine from below ground into shallow pans for evaporation. The brine contains many different dissolved ions, and as their concentration increases, salts precipitate out of solution and sink. The remaining supernatant liquid is used for the next step. The sequence of pans may vary depending on the concentration of ions in a particular source of brine.
In the first pan, halite (sodium chloride or common salt) crystallises. This has little economic value and is discarded. The supernatant, with ever increasing concentration of dissolved solids, is transferred successively to the sylvinite (sodium potassium chloride) pan, the carnalite (potassium magnesium chloride) pan and finally a pan designed to maximise the concentration of lithium chloride. The process takes about 15 months. The concentrate (30-35% lithium chloride solution) is trucked to Salar del Carmen. There, boron and magnesium are removed (typically residual boron is removed by solvent extraction and/or ion exchange and magnesium by raising the pH above 10 with sodium hydroxide) [24] then in the final step, by addition of sodium carbonate, the desired lithium carbonate is precipitated out, separated, and processed.
Some of the by-products from the evaporation process may also have economic value.
There is considerable attention to the use of water in this water poor region. SQM commissioned a life-cycle analysis (LCA) which concluded that water consumption for SQM's lithium hydroxide and carbonate is significantly lower than the average consumption by production from the main ore-based process, using spodumene. A more general LCA suggests the opposite for extraction from reservoirs. [25]
The majority of brine based production is in the "lithium triangle" in South America.
A potential source of lithium is the leachates of geothermal wells, carried to the surface. [26] Recovery of lithium has been demonstrated in the field; the lithium is separated by simple precipitation and filtration. [27] The process and environmental costs are primarily those of the already-operating well; net environmental impacts may thus be positive. [28]
The brine of United Downs Deep Geothermal Power project near Redruth is claimed by Cornish Lithium to be valuable due to its high lithium concentration (220 mg/L) with low magnesium (<5 mg/L) and total dissolved solids content of <29g/L, [29] and a flow rate of 40-60l/s. [25]
α-spodumene is roasted at 1100 °C for 1h to make β-spodumene, then roasted at 250 °C for 10 minutes with sulphuric acid. [30] [22]
As of 2020, Australia was the world's largest producer of lithium intermediates, [31] all based on spodumene.
In recent years mining companies have begun exploration of lithium projects throughout North America, South America and Australia to identify economic deposits that can potentially bring new supplies of lithium carbonate online to meet the growing demand for the product. [32]
In 2020 Tesla Motors announced a revolutionary process to extract lithium from clay in Nevada using only salt and no acid. This was met with scepticism. [33]
A few small companies are recycling spent batteries, focusing on recovering copper and cobalt. Some recover lithium carbonate alongside the compound Li2Al4(CO3)(OH)12⋅3H2O also. [34] [35] [36] [37]
In April 2017 MGX Minerals reported it had received independent confirmation of its rapid lithium extraction process to recover lithium and other valuable minerals from oil and gas wastewater brine. [38]
Electrodialysis has been proposed to extract lithium from seawater, but it is not commercially viable. [39]
Natural lithium carbonate is known as zabuyelite. [40] This mineral is connected with deposits of some salt lakes and some pegmatites. [41]
The alkali metals consist of the chemical elements lithium (Li), sodium (Na), potassium (K), rubidium (Rb), caesium (Cs), and francium (Fr). Together with hydrogen they constitute group 1, which lies in the s-block of the periodic table. All alkali metals have their outermost electron in an s-orbital: this shared electron configuration results in their having very similar characteristic properties. Indeed, the alkali metals provide the best example of group trends in properties in the periodic table, with elements exhibiting well-characterised homologous behaviour. This family of elements is also known as the lithium family after its leading element.
Hydroxide is a diatomic anion with chemical formula OH−. It consists of an oxygen and hydrogen atom held together by a single covalent bond, and carries a negative electric charge. It is an important but usually minor constituent of water. It functions as a base, a ligand, a nucleophile, and a catalyst. The hydroxide ion forms salts, some of which dissociate in aqueous solution, liberating solvated hydroxide ions. Sodium hydroxide is a multi-million-ton per annum commodity chemical. The corresponding electrically neutral compound HO• is the hydroxyl radical. The corresponding covalently bound group –OH of atoms is the hydroxy group. Both the hydroxide ion and hydroxy group are nucleophiles and can act as catalysts in organic chemistry.
Lithium is a chemical element; it has symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard conditions, it is the least dense metal and the least dense solid element. Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly reactive and flammable, and must be stored in vacuum, inert atmosphere, or inert liquid such as purified kerosene or mineral oil. It exhibits a metallic luster. It corrodes quickly in air to a dull silvery gray, then black tarnish. It does not occur freely in nature, but occurs mainly as pegmatitic minerals, which were once the main source of lithium. Due to its solubility as an ion, it is present in ocean water and is commonly obtained from brines. Lithium metal is isolated electrolytically from a mixture of lithium chloride and potassium chloride.
In chemistry, a salt or ionic compound is a chemical compound consisting of an assembly of positively charged ions (cations) and negatively charged ions (anions), which results in a compound with no net electric charge. The constituent ions are held together by electrostatic forces termed ionic bonds.
The term chloride refers to a compound or molecule that contains either a chlorine ion, which is a negatively charged chlorine atom, or a non-charged chlorine atom covalently bonded to the rest of the molecule by a single bond. Many inorganic chlorides are salts. Many organic compounds are chlorides. The pronunciation of the word "chloride" is.
Sodium chloride, commonly known as edible salt, is an ionic compound with the chemical formula NaCl, representing a 1:1 ratio of sodium and chlorine ions. It is transparent or translucent, brittle, hygroscopic, and occurs as the mineral halite. In its edible form, it is commonly used as a condiment and food preservative. Large quantities of sodium chloride are used in many industrial processes, and it is a major source of sodium and chlorine compounds used as feedstocks for further chemical syntheses. Another major application of sodium chloride is deicing of roadways in sub-freezing weather.
In chemistry, there are three definitions in common use of the word "base": Arrhenius bases, Brønsted bases, and Lewis bases. All definitions agree that bases are substances that react with acids, as originally proposed by G.-F. Rouelle in the mid-18th century.
Sodium carbonate is the inorganic compound with the formula Na2CO3 and its various hydrates. All forms are white, odourless, water-soluble salts that yield alkaline solutions in water. Historically, it was extracted from the ashes of plants grown in sodium-rich soils, and because the ashes of these sodium-rich plants were noticeably different from ashes of wood, sodium carbonate became known as "soda ash". It is produced in large quantities from sodium chloride and limestone by the Solvay process, as well as by carbonating sodium hydroxide which is made using the chloralkali process.
Spodumene is a pyroxene mineral consisting of lithium aluminium inosilicate, LiAl(SiO3)2, and is a commercially important source of lithium. It occurs as colorless to yellowish, purplish, or lilac kunzite (see below), yellowish-green or emerald-green hiddenite, prismatic crystals, often of great size. Single crystals of 14.3 m (47 ft) in size are reported from the Black Hills of South Dakota, United States.
Lithium hydroxide is an inorganic compound with the formula LiOH. It can exist as anhydrous or hydrated, and both forms are white hygroscopic solids. They are soluble in water and slightly soluble in ethanol. Both are available commercially. While classified as a strong base, lithium hydroxide is the weakest known alkali metal hydroxide.
Barium chloride is an inorganic compound with the formula BaCl2. It is one of the most common water-soluble salts of barium. Like most other water-soluble barium salts, it is a white powder, highly toxic, and imparts a yellow-green coloration to a flame. It is also hygroscopic, converting to the dihydrate BaCl2·2H2O, which are colourless crystals with a bitter salty taste. It has limited use in the laboratory and industry.
Lithium chloride is a chemical compound with the formula LiCl. The salt is a typical ionic compound (with certain covalent characteristics), although the small size of the Li+ ion gives rise to properties not seen for other alkali metal chlorides, such as extraordinary solubility in polar solvents (83.05 g/100 mL of water at 20 °C) and its hygroscopic properties.
Water softening is the removal of calcium, magnesium, and certain other metal cations in hard water. The resulting soft water requires less soap for the same cleaning effort, as soap is not wasted bonding with calcium ions. Soft water also extends the lifetime of plumbing by reducing or eliminating scale build-up in pipes and fittings. Water softening is usually achieved using lime softening or ion-exchange resins, but is increasingly being accomplished using nanofiltration or reverse osmosis membranes.
A bromide ion is the negatively charged form (Br−) of the element bromine, a member of the halogens group on the periodic table. Most bromides are colorless. Bromides have many practical roles, being found in anticonvulsants, flame-retardant materials, and cell stains. Although uncommon, chronic toxicity from bromide can result in bromism, a syndrome with multiple neurological symptoms. Bromide toxicity can also cause a type of skin eruption, see potassium bromide. The bromide ion has an ionic radius of 196 pm.
Lithium fluoride is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula LiF. It is a colorless solid that transitions to white with decreasing crystal size. Its structure is analogous to that of sodium chloride, but it is much less soluble in water. It is mainly used as a component of molten salts. Partly because Li and F are both light elements, and partly because F2 is highly reactive, formation of LiF from the elements releases one of the highest energies per mass of reactants, second only to that of BeO.
Lithium sulfate is a white inorganic salt with the formula Li2SO4. It is the lithium salt of sulfuric acid.
Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (SQM) is a Chilean chemical company and a supplier of plant nutrients, iodine, lithium and industrial chemicals. It is the world's biggest lithium producer.
Ethylene carbonate (sometimes abbreviated EC) is the organic compound with the formula (CH2O)2CO. It is classified as the cyclic carbonate ester of ethylene glycol and carbonic acid. At room temperature (25 °C) ethylene carbonate is a transparent crystalline solid, practically odorless and colorless, and somewhat soluble in water. In the liquid state (m.p. 34-37 °C) it is a colorless odorless liquid.
Lithium batteries are batteries that use lithium as an anode. This type of battery is also referred to as a lithium-ion battery and is most commonly used for electric vehicles and electronics. The first type of lithium battery was created by the British chemist M. Stanley Whittingham in the early 1970s and used titanium and lithium as the electrodes. Applications for this battery were limited by the high prices of titanium and the unpleasant scent that the reaction produced. Today's lithium-ion battery, modeled after the Whittingham attempt by Akira Yoshino, was first developed in 1985.
Lithium Valley is an area adjacent to the Salton Sea in Southern California, United States, with enormous deposits of lithium. Due to increased demand for lithium, which is a crucial component for batteries used for electric cars and energy storage, the area is attracting attention, and the extraction of lithium is expected to boost the economy of Imperial County. The area is exceptionally well-suited due to the ability to mine the lithium while generating geothermal power. There are already 11 geothermal power plants utilizing the Salton Sea Geothermal Field.