Geothermal Lithium Brine Recovery Yield Calculator
Estimate daily lithium recovery from geothermal brines by combining flow, concentration, recovery efficiency, and uptime into lithium carbonate equivalent output.
Preliminary planning tool. Validate yields with pilot plant mass balances and certified assay data before committing to offtake.
Examples
- 750 m³/h, 180 mg/L, 82% recovery, 90% uptime ⇒ Recovered lithium 2,663.76 kg/day and 14.18 t/day LCE.
- 500 m³/h, 120 mg/L, 75% recovery, uptime left blank (defaults 90%) ⇒ Recovered lithium 972.00 kg/day and 5.17 t/day LCE.
FAQ
Why use mg/L for concentration?
Produced brine assays are typically reported in mg/L. The calculator converts this directly to kilograms using volumetric flow and standard density for aqueous streams.
Does recovery include polishing losses?
Yes. Use an end-to-end recovery that covers sorbent uptake, strip, precipitation, and impurity polishing so the yield reflects saleable product.
How should I adjust uptime?
Reduce uptime for scaling-prone reservoirs or frequent workovers; increase toward 95–97% only after demonstrating stable operations over multiple months.
Additional Information
- Result unit: elemental lithium in kilograms per day and lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) in metric tons per day.
- Uptime defaults to 90% to cover planned maintenance and cleaning cycles common in geothermal extraction systems.
- Conversion to LCE uses a 5.323 factor (Li₂CO₃/Li mass ratio).