Optimizing Lithium Recovery through Zero Liquid Discharge: Recent Advances and Future Perspectives

A review synthesizes zero liquid discharge (ZLD) technologies for sustainable lithium recovery from saline water sources, addressing global freshwater scarcity and resource extraction challenges. Recent advances include membrane distillation-crystallization (MDC) for simultaneous water and mineral recovery, redox-couple electrodialysis (RCE) consuming <10% of the electricity of traditional methods with nearly 100% lithium selectivity, and direct lithium extraction-refining (DLE-R) producing battery-grade lithium hydroxide without water or chemical inputs. Novel sieve plate crystallization approaches enhance lithium carbonate recovery to 90% compared to conventional evaporation pond efficiency of 50–60%. Future research priorities include AI-driven process automation and pilot-scale validation in desalination plants to establish industrial deployment viability.