Life cycle assessment and water use impacts of lithium production from salar deposits: Challenges and opportunities
dc.contributor.author | Halkes, RT | |
dc.contributor.author | Hughes, A | |
dc.contributor.author | Wall, F | |
dc.contributor.author | Petavratzi, E | |
dc.contributor.author | Pell, R | |
dc.contributor.author | Lindsay, JJ | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2024-05-14T14:24:47Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2024-05-10 | |
dc.date.updated | 2024-05-14T10:37:35Z | |
dc.description.abstract | Lithium is a critical raw material for the energy transition and the salar brine deposits of South America host ∼70% of global resources. However, there are concerns regarding water use, and the associated impacts, of lithium production from these deposits. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is becoming increasingly prevalent in the analysis of raw materials sustainability, but current methods are regarded as unsatisfactory for assessing water use impacts related to lithium production from salar deposits. This work explores the challenges and opportunities for improvement in this context. We outline how the classification and assessment of water types could be improved and identify Water Availability Assessments, groundwater specific CFs, salar-specific methodologies and multiple mid-point indicators as areas for further investigation. This will aid the development of LCA methodology and enable an improved assessment of the sustainability of lithium production from salar deposits in South America and by extension help decouple decarbonisation efforts from negative impacts. | en_GB |
dc.description.sponsorship | Natural Environment Research Council | en_GB |
dc.format.extent | 107554-107554 | |
dc.identifier.citation | Vol. 207, article 107554 | en_GB |
dc.identifier.doi | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.107554 | |
dc.identifier.grantnumber | NE/V006932/1 | en_GB |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10871/135940 | |
dc.identifier | ORCID: 0000-0002-5393-4400 (Wall, Frances) | |
dc.identifier | ScopusID: 7005191644 (Wall, Frances) | |
dc.language.iso | en | en_GB |
dc.publisher | Elsevier | en_GB |
dc.rights | Crown Copyright © 2024 Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). | en_GB |
dc.subject | Lithium | en_GB |
dc.subject | Mining | en_GB |
dc.subject | Salars | en_GB |
dc.subject | Life cycle assessment | en_GB |
dc.subject | Water | en_GB |
dc.subject | Sustainability | en_GB |
dc.title | Life cycle assessment and water use impacts of lithium production from salar deposits: Challenges and opportunities | en_GB |
dc.type | Article | en_GB |
dc.date.available | 2024-05-14T14:24:47Z | |
dc.identifier.issn | 0921-3449 | |
exeter.article-number | 107554 | |
dc.description | This is the final version. Available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record. | en_GB |
dc.identifier.eissn | 1879-0658 | |
dc.identifier.journal | Resources, Conservation and Recycling | en_GB |
dc.relation.ispartof | Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 207 | |
dc.rights.uri | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ | en_GB |
dcterms.dateAccepted | 2024-03-09 | |
rioxxterms.version | VoR | en_GB |
rioxxterms.licenseref.startdate | 2024-05-10 | |
rioxxterms.type | Journal Article/Review | en_GB |
refterms.dateFCD | 2024-05-14T14:14:52Z | |
refterms.versionFCD | AM | |
refterms.dateFOA | 2024-05-14T14:24:56Z | |
refterms.panel | B | en_GB |
refterms.dateFirstOnline | 2024-05-10 |
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's licence is described as Crown Copyright © 2024 Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).