Research database

The ancient process of saltworks involves the natural evaporation and fractionated crystallisation of seawater. This process also produces a by-product of brine that is free of calcium and includes some crucial elements at 20 to 40 times more concentrated levels than seawater does. The EU-funded SEArcularMINE project will take the brine to develop and integrate three innovative technologies within a circular procedure that will target magnesium, lithium and other trace elements belonging to the alkaline/alkaline Earth metals or transition/post-transition metals group. These innovative technologies will be based on three different processes: reactive crystallisation, selective membrane separation, and selective sorption/desorption. By adopting a multidisciplinary method, the project will improve knowledge of the processes needed to recover minerals from brines and seawater.