In order to recover lithium ions from aqueous solution, a novel SAN-LMO beads were prepared by immobilizing lithium manganese oxide (LMO) with styrene acrylonitrile copolymers (SAN). The optimum condition for synthesis of SAN-LMO beads was 5 g of LMO and 3 g of SAN content. The characterization of the prepared SAN-LMO beads by SEM and XRD were confirmed that LMO was immobilized in SAN-LMO beads. The removal and the distribution coefficient of lithium ions decreased with increasing lithium ion concentration and solution pH. Even when the prepared SAN-LMO beads were reused 5 times, the leakage of LMO and the damage of SAN-LMO beads was not observed.

In this study, PVC-LMO beads were prepared by immobilizing lithium manganese oxide (LMO) with poly vinyl chloride (PVC) diluted in dioxane solvent. XRD and SEM analysis confirmed that LMO was immobilized well in PVC-LMO beads. The diameter of PVC-LMO beads prepared by dioxane solvent was about 2 mm. The adsorption experiments of lithium ions by PVC-LMO beads were conducted batchwise. The optimum pH was pH 10. The adsorption characteristics of lithium ions by PVC-LMO beads was well described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The maximum adsorption capacity obtained from Langmuir model was 24.25 mg/g. The thermodynamic parameters such as △H°, △S° and △G° were evaluated. The calculated ΔG° was between −6.16 and −4.14 kJ/mol (below zero), indicating the spontaneous nature of Li+ adsorption on PVC-LMO beads. Also, the results showed that PVC-LMO beads prepared in this study could be used for the removal of lithium ions from seawater containing coexisting ions such as Na+, K+, Mg2+ and Ca2+.

The adsorption experiments of lithium ions were conducted in the fixed bed column packed with activated carbon modified with nitric acid. Effect of inlet concentration, bed hight and flow rate on the removal of lithium ions was investigated. The experimental results showed that the removal and the adsorption capacity of lithium ions increased with increasing inlet concentration, and decreased with increasing flow rate. When the bed height increased, the removal and the adsorption capacity increased. The breakthrough curves gave a good fit to Bohart-Adams model. Adsorption capacity and breakthrough time calculated from Bohart-Adams model, these results were remarkably consistent with the experimental values. The adsorption capacity was not changed in the case of 3 times repetitive use of adsorbent.