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New milestone reached: Membranes and extraction fluids developed
Task 3.2 focused on the development of ion-exchange polymers formed into beads able to carry out the separation of Li+ from the other cations found in a brine (e.g., Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+). In a later step, such ion-exchange polymers will be formed into membranes to carry out such separation in conjunction of an “extracting fluid”. At the present stage, Li separation from the brine is carried out by a multi-step process. The latter consists in the following elementary steps: (i) selective binding of the brine cations into the beads; (ii) concentration of the cations and modulation of the counter-anions; and (iii) final separation of Li by means of high-efficiency solvent extraction. The beads used for selective Li separation consist of a very inexpensive ion-exchange aromatic polymer, whose production is straightforward and whose physicochemical properties are easy to modulate to tailor selectivity. UNIPD will mainly focus on the extraction of Li from the brines; Sr extraction will be considered at a later stage. The Li extraction will be first tested on synthetic brines and later implemented on natural brines.
Influence Consultation Event in Cornwall
The Horizon Europe-funded CRM-geothermal project is asking people living and working around Redruth and in West Cornwall to help shape future development of dual geothermal energy and metals extraction projects.
CRM-geothermal Video Contest: And the winners are…
We are thrilled to announce the winners of the CRM-geothermal Video Contest! The contest attracted an incredible array of talent and creativity, highlighting the importance of geothermal energy and critical raw materials through engaging videos. Out of the video...
Public Voting Open for the CRM-geothermal Video Contest!
We thank all the participants for their video submissions for the CRM-geothermal Video Contest! We received 17 incredible videos in total. Our jury has shortlisted 5 finalists. From today, you can watch and vote for these 5 finalist videos on our Instagram, TikTok,...
Student stories: CRM analysis of rocks from the North German Basin for the co-use of deep geothermal plants
Anika Thomas investigated during an internship and her Master Thesis the rocks of the North German Basin regarding the abundance of the critical elements lithium, strontium and copper.
CRM-geothermal achieves milestone in microbial metal processing
The CRM-geothermal project has recently reached a milestone in its quest to harness microbial capabilities for metal recovery from geothermal fluids. Researchers from the Laboratory of Microbiology at the University of Neuchâtel and Dr. Brill + Partner GmbH performed innovative screening experiments to identify microbes capable of extracting valuable metals like lithium (Li) and mitigating problematic elements such as lead (Pb) which can cause scaling in some geothermal power plants.
Visit of the Ambassador of Malawi at GFZ
On April 23, 2024, His Excellency Joseph John Mpinganjira, Ambassador of the Southeast African Republic of Malawi in Germany visited the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ).
Hybrid workshop on 8 May: CRIRSCO/UNFC Reporting schemes in the co-extraction of heat and CRMs from geothermal fluids
The International Raw Materials Observatory (INTRAW) and the University of Miskolc (UNIM) organise a hybrid workshop related to the deployment of the combined extraction of CRM and energy from geothermal fluids).
CRM-geothermal Newsletter #1
We invite you to discover our first newsletter!
Open call for Stakeholder Board members
Our Stakeholder Board comprises experts in geothermal energy and critical raw materials and we currently have an open call to further enlarge the group as we start to implement the first engagement activities.
Webinar recordings now online!
On 12 March 2024, the RAWMINA and CRM-geothermal projects jointly organised a webinar on “Frontier technologies for sustainable extraction of critical raw materials”.
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