are a fairly large number of both lithium mineral and brine deposits but only comparatively a few of them are of actual or potential commercial value. Many are very small, others are too low in grade. "[35] At 20 mg lithium per kg of Earth's crust [36], lithium is the 25th most abundant element. Nickel and lead have the about the same abundance. p> The largest reserve base of lithium is in the Salar de Uyuni area of ​​Bolivia, which has 5.4 million tons. According to the US Geological Survey, the production and reserves of lithium in metric tons are as follows [37]:
Contrary to the USGS data in the table, other estimates put Chile's reserve base at 7,520,000 metric tons of lithium, and Argentina's at 6,000,000 metric tons. [38] Seawater contains an estimated 230 billion tons of lithium, though at a low concentration of 0.1 to 0.2 ppm.
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Figure. 2. Lithium is about as common as chlorine in the Earth's upper continental crust, on a per-atom basis.
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5 . Production
Since the end of World War II lithium metal production has greatly increased. The metal is separated from other elements in igneous minerals such as those above. Lithium salts are extracted from the water of mineral springs, brine pools and brine deposits.
The metal is produced electrolytically from a mixture of fused lithium and potassium chloride. In 1998 it was about US $ 43 per pound ($ 95 per kg). [40]
Deposits of lithium are found in South America throughout the Andes mountain chain. Chile is the leading lithium metal producer, followed by Argentina. Both countries recover the lithium from brine pools. In the United States lithium is recovered from brine pools in Nevada. [41] Nearly half the world's known reserves are located in Bolivia, a nation sitting along the central eastern slope of the Andes. In 2009 Bolivia is negotiating with Japanese, French, and even Korean firms to begin extraction. [42] According to the US Geological Survey, Bolivia's Uyuni Desert has 5.4 million tons of lithium, which can be used to make batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles. [42] [43]
China may emerge as a significant producer of brine-source lithium carbonate around 2010. There is potential production of up to 55,000 tons per year if projects in Qinghai province and Tibet proceed. [44]
The total amount of lithium recoverable from global reserves has been estimated at 35 million tonnes, which includes 15 million tons of the known global lithium reserve base. [45]
In 1976 a National Research Council Panel estimated lithium resources at 10.6 million tons for the Western World. [46] With the inclusion of Russian and Chinese resources as well as new discoveries in Australia, Serbia, Argentina and the United States, the total had nearly tripled by 2008. [47] [48]
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Figure. 3. Lithium mine, Salar del Hombre Muerto, Argentina. The brine in this salar is rich in lithium, and the mine concentrates the brine by pumping it into solar evaporation ponds. 2009 image from NASA's EO-1 satellite. br/>В
Figure. 4. Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia. br/>В
6 . Applications
Because of its specific heat capacity, the highest of all solids, lithium is often used in heat transfer applications.
In the latter years of the 20th century lithium became important as an anode material. Used in lithium-ion batteries because of its high electrochemical potential, a typical cell can generate approximately 3 volts, compared with 1.5 volts for lead/acid or zinc cells. Because of its low atomic mass, it also has a high charge- and power-to-weight ratio.
Lithium is also used in the pharmaceutical and fine-chemical industry in the manufacture of organolithium reagents, which are used both as strong bases and as reagents for the formation of carbon carbon bonds. Organolithiums are also used in polymer synthesis as catalysts/initiators [49] in anionic polymerisation of unfunctionalised olefins. [50] [51] [52]
6.1 Medical use
Lithium salts were used during the 19th century to treat gout. Lithium salts such as lithium carbonate (Li2CO3), lithium citrate, and lithium orotate are mood stabilizers. They are used in the treatment of bipolar disorder since, unlike most other mood altering drugs, they counteract both mania and depression. Lithium can also be used to augment antidepressants. Because of Lithium's nephrogenic diabetes insipidus effects, it can be used to help treat the syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone hypersecretion (SIADH). It was also sometimes prescribed as a preventive treatment for migraine disease and cluster headaches. [53]
The active principle in these salts is the lithium ion Li +. Although this ion has a smaller diameter than either Na + or K +, in a watery environment like the cytoplasmic fluid,...
