Recovery of Lithium from Beta-Spodumene Through Serial Calcination and Water Leaching with CaO

Lithium recovery from β-spodumene was conducted using a hydrometallurgical process consisting of water leaching and calcination. Water leaching experiments were conducted using a mixture of β-spodumene and CaO. The effect of experimental parameters such as the particle size of β-spodumene, reaction temperature, reaction time, and mass ratio of CaO to β-spodumene on the lithium leaching efficiency was investigated. The Ca(OH)2 and CaCO3 in the leach residue were converted to CaO by calcination at 900°C. The calcined product was recycled into in the leaching process to recover additional lithium. Four leaching stages based on a 75-μm particle undersize, reaction temperature of 100°C, 3:1 mass ratio of CaO to β-spodumene, and overall reaction time of 9 h resulted in 97