A Fundamental Investigation of Li2CO3 Crystallization from Li2SO4 System

In this study, a fundamental investigation of the crystallization process of Li2CO3 from Li2SO4 solution by adding Na2CO3 was performed. Experimental data indicated that at optimum conditions, 90% Li from Li2SO4 was recovered as Li2CO3 solid with 1% impurity in the product and the reaction reached equilibrium within 1 h. The presence of impurities, i.e., CaSO4 and Na2SO4, in the initial Li2SO4 solution had significant negative impact on both lithium recovery efficiency and purity level of the final Li2CO3 product. A feeding rate of Na2CO3 solution into Li2SO4 solution or adding seed in the initial Li2SO4 solution showed minimal effect on the recovery of the product. Seeding properly helped to form the final crystal in desired shape and size with narrow range of particle size distribution.