Lithium is never found in its elemental form in nature, according to Savannah Lithium's website. However, it occurs in more than 100 mineral compounds, including spodumene, which is pictured above. Spodumene is the compound sought after by lithium companies in Portugal. In Serbia, it's jadarite, and in China, it's lepidolite. The pictured spodumene is from Afife, Municipality of Viana do Castelo, District of Viana do Castelo (Photo from mindat)
The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the proposed billion-euro Galp-Northvolt lithium conversion plant in Setúbal is available for public comment from September 13 until October 24.
Lithium, a key element in electric cars, telephones and computers, has been a fraught issue in Portugal, Europe, and North and South America. Some, mostly companies and governments, argue that mining lithium is an environmentally green way forward and others, mostly residents, plead to save their environment, livelihoods and patrimony. Living in the foothills of the Serra da Estrela, which until two years ago had been considered for lithium mining, I side with the latter.
Due to its purported large lithium deposits, Portugal is being touted as a key player in Europe's transition to green energy. The European Union (EU) is wholly dependent on imported battery-grade lithium in an increasingly competitive global market, according to the EU. The majority of the world's lithium is mined in Australia and South America, and more than 97 percent of it is refined in China, reported Inside Climate News (November 6, 2021).
“Portugal, which produced about 1,200 tons of lithium last year, currently sells almost exclusively to the ceramics industry rather than producing high-grade lithium needed for car batteries,” reported Reuters (February 14, 2020). “It is already Europe’s largest lithium producer, but Portugal remains a small player compared to Australia and Chile, with an output of 42,000 tons and 18,000 tons, respectively.”
In Portugal, there are two lithium-mining companies, which have received conditional environmental approval; one firm which has received conditional approval for a lithium-battery factory, and the Galp-Northvolt venture, called Aurora Lithium, hoping to get approval for converting mined hard-rock spudomene into a more purified form of lithium.
Lithium hydroxide monohydrate (Photo from Gautam Zen International)
How to Get Lithium From Rock
Aurora Lithium's acid-roasting refining process would involve a series of chemical reactions to render lithium hydroxide monohydrate from spudomene.
First, the spudomene concentrate would be heated between 1050 to 1110 degrees C and the result mixed with sulfuric acid at about 250 degrees C to form lithium sulfate, which would be leached with water, according to Proposta de Definição de Âmbito de EIA (PDA) (July 2022). Aluminosilicates, a by-product, in principle, would be sent to cement companies (such as Secil and Cimpor).
Then, the lithium sulfate solution would be purified by raising the pH in two steps. First, the solution would be neutralized by adding calcium carbonate or calcium hydroxide, which would produce the by-product gypsum which, in principle, would be sent for use in industrial laminate or the gypsum or cement industry. Second, the solution would be purified by adding sodium carbonate and sodium hydroxide to remove impurities such as calcium, magnesium and manganese which, in principle, would be transported to landfill.
Next, there would be an ion exchange to reduce impurities such as calcium.
Then, the purified lithium solution would undergo a conversion process with sodium hydroxide to produce lithium hydroxide. In principle, the by-product sodium sulfate would be sent to the detergent or pulp or paper industry, such as The Navigator Company.
Finally, the crystallized lithium hydroxide would be dried and marketed in the form of lithium hydroxide monohydrate.
Proposal Changes
Two years ago, on September 13, 2022, public comment ended on the Galp-Northvolt 142-page Proposta de Definição de Âmbito de EIA (PDA), an outline of scope.
The Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) nine-member evaluation commission included the government bodies, ICNF (Instituto de Conservação da Natureza e das Florestas) and the Agência para a Competitividade e Inovação (Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation). In October 2022, it decided that the PDA -- structurally -- complied with technical standards.
However, the evaluation commission pointed out that "there is some uncertainty associated with the project since the information regarding the various phases of the project is scarce . . ."
The commission issued guidelines for the pursuant EIA, pointing out the the non-technical summary should be understandable to the public, according to the 72-page Parecer Comissão de Avaliação: Proposta de Definição do Âmbito de Estudo de Impacte Ambiental da Unidade Industrial de Conversão de Litio (Opinion of the Evaluation Committee: Scope Definition Proposal of the Environmental Impact Study of Industrial Lithium Conversion Unit).
There have been a few project changes in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) as compared to the earlier scope outline (PDA).
Aurora Lithium is the joint venture between Northvolt, a battery developer and manufacturer based in Stockholm and founded in 2016, and Galp Energia, a multinational energy corporation based in Lisbon and founded through a merger in 1999. Previously, it had been an equal stakes venture. Now, Galp has 70 percent and Northvolt 30 percent.
The 40-hectare industrial plant would produce annually 32,000 tons of lithium hydroxide monohydrate from mined spudomene concentrate, according to the 41-page Estudo de Impacte Ambiente: Vol. I - Resumo Não Técnico, as compared to the previous estimate of 28,000 tons to 35,000 tons.
The lithium-conversion plant would consist of many units for various purposes, including storage, calcination (heating to high temperatures), mixing with acid (acid roasting), water leaching, neutralization, purification, causticization and crystallization, according to Proposta de Definição de Âmbito de EIA (PDA).
The output would be enough to power more than 700,000 electric vehicles, according to the European Investment Bank (March 11). The operation phase remains at 25 years. The start of commercial operations is planned for 2028.
The global investment is expected to be 1,100 to 1,300 million euros, according to the 1,109-page Estudo de Impacte Ambiental: Vol. II Relatório Síntese, as compared to the previous 700 million euros.
The European Investment Bank is appraising Aurora Lithium's proposal requesting financing of approximately 825 million euros of the 1,110 million-euro project, according to the European Investment Bank (March 11). The investment bank said that the project supports the European Union Critical Raw Materials Act's goal of achieving local processing capacity of at least 40 percent of the EU's annual consumption of strategic raw materials.
The lithium conversion plant would lead to the creation of about 357 direct jobs and 3,000 indirect jobs, of which 70 percent are highly qualified positions, according to Estudo de Impacte Ambiental: Vol. II Relatório Síntese. Previously, the estimate was 200 direct jobs and an unchanged 3,000 indirect jobs.
"'Europe's industry is so fledgling that there's a lack of skilled talent. the (Aurora Lithium) team says,'" reported Sifted (May 18, 2023). "They're trying to entice workers over from places like Australia, which has an existing industry, but it's a problem that's pushed the timelines for Aurora back 'a quarter or two.' Locating the refinery near Lisbon will help us, the team says -- it's close enough that people can live in the capital."
Manual de Sousa Martins, previously the CEO of Secil Portugal, the cement and building materials company, was named CEO of Aurora Lithium, according to a Galp press release (September 15, 2022).
Aurora Lithium would be located in the municipality of Setúbal on land within the perimeter of the Sapec Bay Industrial Park in the region of Lisbon and Vale do Tejo, according to Estudo de Impacte Ambiental: Vol. II Relatório Síntese.
Hazardous and Non-hazardous Substances
The following substances at the lithium-conversion factory would be considered dangerous under the European Union's REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals concerned mainly with the impact on human health and the environment) regulation: hydrochloric acid; sodium hydroxide; sulfuric acid; lithium hydroxide monohydrate; calcium hydroxide; and sodium carbonate; natural gas, and diesel gas, according to Aurora Lithium's Proposta de Definição de Âmbito de EIA (PDA) (July 2022).
"Of the known hazardous substances present in the Industrial Conversion Unit of Lithium, only natural gas and diesel are likely to fall within the established Portuguese RPAG (Regulations for the Prevention of Serious Accidents concerned mainly with industrial accidents) framework and this framework depends on the maximum quantities present at any time."
There is more detail regarding the amount, transport and storage of some hazardous and non-hazardous substances in the Environmental Impact Assessment, according to Estudo de Impacte Ambiental: Vol. II Relatório Síntese:
Spudomene concentrate would be unloaded at the facility into a hopper before being transported to the crushing circuit, if too large, or directly to the warehouse. The raw material would be transported to the warehouse by conveyor belt. Dust control, both inside the building and in the transport systems, would be ensured by a negative pressure control system, dry mist systems and bag filters. The spudomene concentrate would be removed from the warehouse using mechanical paddles that would place it in a hopper, from where it would proceed by mechanical transport to the preheating tower. The estimated annual consumption of spodumene would be 175.1 kT/year (kT equals 1,000 tons).
Hydrochloric acid (32%) would be supplied by truck and discharged by pump to its own storage tank. The exhaust gases from the storage tank would be treated in a gas scrubber, before being sent to the atmosphere. The estimated annual consumption of hydrochloric acid would be about 1.0 kT/year (kT equals 1,000 tons).
Sodium hydroxide (50%) would be pumped for various uses throughout the facility. It would be transported by truck to the factory. Then, it would be discharged by pump into one of its two storage tanks, which would be heated to maintain the temperature above the freezing point of sodium hydroxide. The estimated annual consumption of sodium hydroxide would be about 82.5 kT/year (kT equals 1,000 tons).
Sulfuric acid (98%) would be transported to the facility by trucks and stored in dedicated tanks, which would be equipped with dryers to prevent moisture from entering. The estimated annual consumption of sulfuric acid (98%) would be around 62.0 kT/year (kT equals 1,000 tons). It is also estimated that 10% diluted sulfuric acid would be used in the acidification process.
Calcium Compounds: Calcium carbonate would be delivered by truck and pneumatically transported to one of its two storage tanks. CaCO3 would be dosed by rotary valves to screw feeders for the mixing tank, where it would be combined with the sludge from the removal of impurities as well as with process water. The mixture would then be stored in a dedicated tank and distributed in such a way that it would be returned to the storage tank. This mud would be used in neutralization to remove sulfuric acid residual. The estimated annual consumption of CaCO3 would be about 17.7 kT/year (kT equals 1,000 tons).
Sodium carbonate would be delivered to the facility as a fine solid. It would arrive by truck and then stored in bags. The sodium carbonate would be dissolved with process water in a mixing tank to form a 17% solution that would be stored in its storage tank. Then, the solution would be transferred by a pumping system to the storage tanks. The estimated annual consumption of sodium carbonate would be around 1.0 kT/year (kT equals 1,000 tons).
Lithium sulfate monohydrate or lithium carbonate, used as intermediary raw materials, would arrive by truck and then pneumatically transferred to storage silos. Its supply to the process would be carried out by pneumatic transport. The estimated annual consumption would be about 7.3 kT/year (kT equals 1,000 tons).
Air Pollutants, Waste, Noise, Water
Previously, the construction phase was estimated at 24 months.
During construction, no atmospheric emissions were noted in the Environmental Impact Assessment.
After construction, there would be "32 fixed sources associated with production processes and auxiliary activities, which will be self-monitored for self-control of pollutants emitted," according to Estudo de Impacte Ambiente: Vol. I - Resumo Não Técnico.
During construction, there would be an estimated 180,930 kilograms of waste, 5 percent of which would be hazardous, from land cleaning and deforestation, shipyard operations and construction. The waste would be forwarded to licensed waste management operators.
After construction, there would be an estimated 290,923.37 tons of waste, of which 3 percent would be hazardous. Aurora Lithium said that it would be able to manage 94 percent of the waste as by-products after approval of the declassification as waste and obtaining by-product status. The remaining 6 percent would be treated as waste, consisting of 49.7 percent hazardous waste.
During construction, measures to minimize the impact of the project include restricting construction operations, especially the noisiest ones, to the daytime; safeguarding the water lines closest to the intervention sites that are expected to be susceptible to change in quality due to construction activities, and, when implementing electrical line supports, avoiding scenic and ecological "higher-value" tree specimens such as cork oaks and other native species.
The introductory summary of the Environmental Impact Assessment cites 142,272 cubic meters of water, originating from treated wastewater, would be used for the project annually.
Wastewater from buildings would be sent to the drainage of domestic wastewater, sent to the wastewater in the existing municipal network in the SAPEC Bay Industrial Park and then to Saneamento da Península de Setúbal (SIMARSUL) for municipal treatment, according to Estudo de Impacte Ambiente: Vol. I - Resumo Não Técnico.
During the construction phase, in terms of annual consumption: 31,000 cubic meters of water would be used for human consumption from the public network managed by CMS as well as 121,000 cubic meters for construction and dust control from the SAPEC network (96,000 cubic meters for general activities and 25,000 cubic meters for dust control), according to Estudo de Impacte Ambiente: Vol. I - Resumo Não Técnico.
After construction, annual water consumption would be allocated as follows: 16,562 cubic meters of drinking water from the public network; 2,656 cubic meters of water for fires, and 142,272 cubic meters for industrial use. The latter number is the one cited in the introductory summary. These numbers total 161,490 cubic meters.
For the sake of comparison, a household of seven in the United Kingdom uses 239 cubic meters of water in a year, according to Statistica, 2019.
During the deactivation phase, proposed measures include developing and implementing a landscape recovery plan for the factory and respective double electrical line area. All structures would be eliminated and the previous physiography restored, which would entail removal of embankment platforms, supports, and the return of top soils.
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