Novel and Sustainable Materials for the Separation of Lithium, Rubidium, and Cesium Ions from Aqueous Solutions in Adsorption Processes-A Review

Abstract

The growing demand for alkali metals (AMs), such as lithium, cesium, and rubidium, related to their wide application across various industries (e.g., electronics, medicine, aerospace, etc.) and the limited resources of their naturally occurring ores, has led to an increased interest in methods of their recovery from secondary sources (e.g., brines, wastewater, waste leachates). One of the dynamically developing research directions in the field of separation of AMs ions from various aqueous solutions is the search for novel, efficient, and "green" materials that could be used in adsorption processes, also on a larger industrial scale. This review concerns the latest achievements (mainly from 2023 to 2024) in the development of innovative adsorption materials (e.g., ion sieves, aluminum-based adsorbents, mineral adsorbents, composites, resins) for the separation of Li⁺, Cs⁺, and Rb⁺ ions from solutions, with particular emphasis on their most important advantages and limitations, as well as their potential impact on the environment.

Keywords: adsorption; cesium; lithium; metal recovery; rubidium; selective separation; “green” methods.

Figure 1

A simplified scheme of the preparation and operation of the ion sieve (prepared on the bases of [38,39]).

Figure 2

A simplified scheme of the structure of lithium-aluminum layered double hydroxide (prepared on the basis of [73]).

Figure 3

A simplified scheme of the separation of metal ions by zeolite adsorbent (prepared on the bases of [90]).