Forever chemicals used to extract 99% pure battery-grade lithium

Researchers at Rice University, led by James Tour and Yi Cheng, have developed an innovative method to extract 99% pure battery-grade lithium from high-salinity brine using spent perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly known as “forever chemicals.” These toxic compounds, which persist in the environment and contaminate water, are typically treated as hazardous waste after use in filtration. The team repurposed PFAS-saturated activated carbon, leveraging the fluorine locked within these molecules to bind with lithium ions in brine, forming lithium fluoride through a process called Flash Joule Heating. This technique rapidly heats the mixture to over 1,000°C, breaking strong carbon-fluorine bonds and freeing fluorine to react with lithium. To purify the lithium fluoride, the researchers applied a second heating stage at temperatures between 1,676°C and 2,260°C, vaporizing lithium fluoride while leaving heavier impurities behind. This flash distillation