A study of the extraction process of lithium from β-spodumene was conducted to obtain lithium and the generation of a zeolite as byproduct. The removal of lithium was measured using atomic absorption measurements of the supernatant. X-ray diffraction analysis of residues and precipitates shows the formation of zeolite A, when NaOH is used in the synthesis procedure. The addition of sodium aluminate is not favorable to the extraction process because it yields more stable compounds with lithium.
extracting lithium; β-spodumene; zeolite
