Adsorption device, provided by Cao Liang

In response to the wide sources and large reserves of lithium resources in oil and gas field water, CPECC Southwest Branch takes ensuring China's energy security and developing new energy as its own responsibility. Together with Southwest Oil and Gas Field Company and East China University of Technology, it has formed a research team with more than 60 scientific researchers and technical experts as the core for the utilization of gas field water associated resources. The team systematically analyzes the lithium resource content in key production wells in Sichuan and concentrates internal and external advantageous resources, We have carried out process design and technical route research.

The research team has fully demonstrated and repeatedly verified that they have solved the problems of high impurity ions, high organic concentration, low lithium, and high sulfur in gas field water. They have formed a technical route of gas field water pretreatment+efficient lithium ion sieve adsorbent for lithium extraction, and have opened up the entire process of gas field water pretreatment and lithium extraction. They have successfully built a medium-sized experimental device for the entire lithium extraction process, Realized green separation, enrichment, and extraction of low concentration lithium resources under complex impurities and multi-element coexisting systems in gas field water.

Desulfurization device. Courtesy of Tang Guojun

The lithium resource extraction process of this process can be applied to low lithium content gas field water, with high lithium adsorption capacity, high efficiency, green environmental protection, and high stability. It not only obtained qualified industrial grade lithium carbonate, achieved a breakthrough in China's petroleum gas field water extraction lithium technology, but also created the first large-scale continuous operation industrial pilot plant for gas field water extraction lithium in China.

According to the project leader Li Yu, after the project started on November 1, 2022, CPECC Southwest Branch selected a capable and efficient support team to fully leverage the technical and management advantages of Southwest Branch, and integrated refined management throughout the project. Finally, with the joint efforts of all participating personnel, the industrial pilot plant was successfully put into operation.

Du Tonglin, Deputy General Manager of CPECC Southwest Branch, stated that in the next step, CPECC Southwest Branch will take the operation of the industrial pilot plant for lithium extraction from gas field water as a new starting point, work together with Southwest Oil and Gas Field Company and East China University of Technology to further improve the joint research mechanism, accelerate the exploration of more stable and efficient operation methods for gas field water lithium extraction plants, continuously optimize the operating parameters of each section, and continue to promote the engineering construction and large-scale production of lithium extraction. (End)