qinghai citic guoan technology co’s 10,000-ton lithium carbonate project, designed by the changsha institute, won the first chemical engineering project design prize at the second national investigation and design industrial innovation meeting.
the lithium carbonate project was a key program in china’s 11th five-year plan. its packaged technology development was supported by the ministry of science and technology. the project passed acceptance checks in november 2012 and january 2013. completion of the project would play a demonstrative role in the comprehensive utilization of sulfate salt lakes, which is an important link in tapping into qinghai’s superior resources. the project has significant economic and political significance.
the unit is china’s first 10,000-ton-grade lithium carbonate unit using salt lake brine, as well as the largest of its kind worldwide. it’s the first that realized lithium extraction industrialization. the project design applied calcinations and the leaching combination process. it also used boron and lithium-containing old brine as raw material to produce lithium carbonate, with boric acid and magnesium oxide as byproducts. it has a high recovery rate of lithium, boron and magnesium and cutting-edge technical process, which greatly cut industrial wastes discharge. “guoan” lithium carbonate was named a famous brand in qinghai by the local government.