Lithium extraction from brine through a decoupled and membrane-free electrochemical cell design

Efficient lithium extraction from natural seawater would greatly enhance the sustainability of renewable energy technologies such as batteries. Herein, we present a decoupled and membrane-free electrochemical cell design that cycles lithium ions between iron phosphate electrodes. The cathode in the brine is physically isolated from the anode in freshwater, but they are electrochemically interconnected through a pair of silver/silver halide redox electrodes. This design was compatible with harsh brines featuring Mg/Li molar ratios of up to 3258 and low lithium concentrations down to 0.15 mM to produce battery-grade lithium carbonate with purity > 99.95%. Furthermore, the process could efficiently harness the osmotic energy of the brines, leading to up to ca. 21.5% of total energy savings. A pilot-scale cell with an electrode surface of 33.75 m2 realized lithium extraction from Dead Sea brine at a recovery rate of 84.0%., , , # Lithium extraction from brine through a decoupled and membrane-free electrochemical cell design

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.k6djh9wg2](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.k6djh9wg2)

## Data Description and File Structure

The dataset includes concentration data and X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns collected at KAUST Corelab. Electrochemistry-related measurements, such as osmotic energy and electrode potential, were conducted using a Keithley 2450 workstation at the KAUST IMR lab. The cycling performance of electrodes was evaluated using a Neware electrochemical testing system, also at the KAUST IMR lab. Pilot-scale testing was facilitated by Guangzhou Chienytech Co., Ltd., which provided the equipment and testing grounds. For more experimental details, refer to the Supplementary Materials PDF available on the Science website.

In some data files, columns may represent different samples with varying test conditions or value ranges, which can result in inconsistent data lengths and empty...