For the first time in a lithium extraction project, Australia leaves all process steps from ore mining and separation to refining in the country. With its comprehensive technology portfolio, GEA Group AG (Düsseldorf, Germany; www.gea.com) is supporting its customer Albemarle, in this project. In this context, GEA has received in December 2018 an order from Albemarle to supply screening and pusher centrifuges, peeler centrifuges and decanter centrifuge plants for the treatment of lithium derivatives in various process stages. The order value for GEA is €20 million. The new plant in Albemarle is to be built in the Kemerton Strategic Industrial Area (KSIA), 17 km northeast of Bunbury in Western Australia. In three independent trains, the green field hydromet plant will produce 60,000 metric tons of lithium hydroxide per year.
The demand for lithium in its pure form and lithium derivatives is growing steadily worldwide. This is due to the unique properties of lithium, a lightweight, flexible element capable of storing large amounts of energy. Lithium and lithium hydroxide are indispensable in lithium-ion batteries for electric cars and smartphones, but also in other applications outside energy storage such as pharmaceuticals, lubricants, glasses and ceramics, rubber, photo developers and in the production of borates (salts or esters of boric acids). The extraction of this raw material and its further processing in various process stages by competent partners and cooperation based on partnership are therefore becoming increasingly important and secure the value-added chain for these products in Australia.
GEA supports its customers in the realization of lithium process plants with a comprehensive technology spectrum. Especially for the mechanical separation of sedimentation, centrifuges are an important component in the entire process flow. GEA’s expertise includes the separation of impurities by centrifugal separators for solids and liquids as well as techniques for the concentration, purification and fluid bed drying of lithium salt compounds. These compounds are mixed with other substances and further processed. GEA is the world leader in the spray drying of these state-of-the-art materials to battery powder for the production of lithium batteries and also offers a comprehensive service.