Influence of Alkanes on Lithium Adsorption and Desorption of a H₂TiO₃ Ion Sieve Adsorbent in Synthetic Shale Gas-Produced Water

The lithium adsorbent H₂TiO₃ was used for lithium adsorption from shale gas-produced water. Produced water contains large concentrations of various organic compounds, but mostly n-alkanes. In this study, the influence of alkanes on lithium adsorption from shale gas-produced water was observed. The precipitation–adsorption–desorption method was used for selective lithium adsorption. Increasing n-hexane concentrations were found to decrease the amount of recovered lithium. To observe the characteristics of the adsorbent, zeta potential and particle size were analyzed with the addition of n-alkane with different concentrations. An increase in the hexane concentration was found to decrease the magnitude of the zeta potential and increase the particle size of the adsorbent. These results indicate that the alkanes have different influences on adsorbent particles from other types of organic compounds. The removal of alkanes from produced water would enhance the recovery rate and selectivity of lithium from shale gas-produced water.