LANXESS is offering a new solution for the rapidly growing battery industry. The Lewatit MK 51 ion exchange resin from LANXESS selectively removes boron from metal concentrates, thus enabling the extraction of high-purity raw materials for use in batteries.

In contrast to solvent extraction, ion exchange technology does not employ any environmentally harmful, flammable solvents. This enables users to operate sustainably and also saves investment costs, as the plants do not need to be equipped with explosion protection. Another advantage is that ion exchange plants can be built more compactly.

“With Lewatit MK 51 for the selective removal of boron from metal concentrates like e.g. lithium ore, we are expanding our solution portfolio for the battery industry,” says Dr. Dirk Steinhilber, Application Technology Manager in the Liquid Purification Technologies business unit at LANXESS.

To produce high-quality batteries with a high energy density and a long service life, battery metals, such as lithium, nickel and cobalt, must be available in the purest possible form. During ore mining, these metals are often contaminated with boron due to the nature of the ore. This boron must be selectively removed so that the battery metals are as pure as possible after extraction.

”Our Lewatit MK51 is ideal for this purpose because it only binds boron. Other components of the metal concentrates, such as sulfate, hydrogen carbonate and chloride, do not interact with the resin. This facilitates the production of high-purity battery metal concentrates which can then be further processed,” says Steinhilber.