Solid-liquid Phase Equilibria in the Process of Producing Lithium Hydroxide from Lithium Sulfate

The solid-liquid phase equilibria in the process of producing lithium hydroxide from lithium sulfate at 283.15, 298.15 and 323.15 K were studied via the isothermal solubility equilibrium method, and the solid species, phase diagrams, solution densities and pH were determined. The results show that four solid species of Na2SO4·10H2O, Na2SO4·2.5H2O, Na2SO4 and LiOH·H2O occurred in the system, among them, Na2SO4·2.5H2O was a new solid species not reported in the open literature, which was determined via chemical analysis, Karl Fischer water titration, X-ray diffraction(XRD), thermogravimetic analysis(TG) and differential scanning calorimetry(DSC) testing. Based on the SLE data, one systemic process to produce LiOH·H2O from Li2SO4·H2O was proposed including two crystallization steps at lower and higher temperatures.