Lithium carbonate process flow

The production process of lithium carbonate mainly includes the following steps:

1、Raw material preparation: Firstly, it is necessary to prepare lithium containing raw materials,

usually spodumene, lepidolite, or salt lake brine.

2. Ore crushing and grinding: If ore is used as raw material, it needs to be crushed 

and ground to increase its surface area for subsequent extraction processes.

3. Roasting : For ores such as spodumene, they need to be converted into soluble lithium compounds through roasting. 

This step is usually carried out at high temperatures to convert spodumene into lithium aluminum silicate.

4. Leaching : Mix the roasted ore with acid (usually sulfuric acid) for leaching treatment, allowing lithium ions to enter the solution.

5.  Filtration and Washing : After leaching, it is necessary to separate the solid waste (residue) from 

the lithium containing solution and remove impurities through filtration and washing.

6. Enrichment of lithium: Through a series of chemical treatments, such as adding specific chemical reagents, 

lithium ions are separated and enriched from the solution.

7. Carbonation: Reacting enriched lithium solution with carbon dioxide gas to produce lithium carbonate precipitate. 

This step is usually carried out under controlled pH and temperature conditions.

8. Filtration and drying : Filter out the generated lithium carbonate precipitate and perform drying treatment to obtain pure lithium carbonate products.

9. Finished product packaging : Finally, weigh and package the dried lithium carbonate for storage and transportation.

This process may vary due to differences in raw materials and specific production methods. 

For example, the process of extracting lithium carbonate from salt lake brine is very different from the process of extracting from ores, 

mainly involving steps such as evaporation pond concentration and ion exchange.