It is reported that Zhu Jia, a professor of Nanjing University, and Chen Jun, an academician of the CAS Member, successfully extracted high-purity lithium salt from salt lake brine in an efficient and environmentally friendly way by imitating the transpiration process of salt soil plants, which is expected to help the green and high-quality development of lithium industry in plateau salt lakes in China. The international academic journal Science published relevant results on the 27th. According to Song Yan, the first author of the paper and a special associate researcher at Nanjing University, lithium, as a key mineral in energy storage materials such as electric vehicle batteries, mainly exists in two forms: salt lake brine and solid ore. There are numerous salt lakes distributed in the plateau areas of our country, which are rich in lithium resources. However, the key indicator of "magnesium lithium ratio" in the lake water is relatively high, which makes it difficult to separate magnesium and lithium, and the production of lithium salts is costly and of low quality. The ecological fragility of high-altitude areas also imposes strict environmental protection requirements on related industries. The picture shows the "Interface Thermal 'Salt Lake Lithium Extraction' Device" developed by researchers at Nanjing University. A research team from Nanjing University has come up with the idea that in saline alkali environments, salt tolerant plants can selectively absorb salt and water through transpiration. By mimicking the principle of transpiration, the team successfully developed the "Interface Photothermal Salt Lake Lithium Extraction" device. The device is divided into three layers. Under sunlight, ultra-high pressure is generated in the nanochannels of the evaporator. The high pressure is transmitted to the ion separation layer, which selectively "drives" lithium ions in the brine to the storage layer. Finally, the lithium salts in the storage layer are collected through a water circulation system. Song Yan stated that in the laboratory simulation of day night alternation and salt lake brine environment, the device has been running continuously for 528 hours. The "magnesium lithium ratio" of the brine has decreased from the initial value of 422 to 2.5, and the purity of lithium has increased by more than 160 times, verifying the feasibility and high efficiency of the entire device. Zhu Jia said that through modular assembly and combination, the area of the device can be continuously expanded, thereby increasing the production of lithium salt. More importantly, the device can operate on solar energy without consuming additional electricity or chemicals, making it particularly suitable for application in high-altitude areas with abundant light resources but fragile ecological environments. It has low energy consumption and is environmentally friendly. It is reported that the team plans to conduct pilot and industrial tests in high-altitude areas in the next stage, further optimizing the device design based on the different physical and chemical characteristics of various salt lakes in the plateau, and striving to form a practical salt lake lithium mine production line as soon as possible with the support of multiple parties. (New Society)