OVERVIEW

Complex chemical behavior in highly concentrated environments reduces operations efficiency and sustainability

Rudimentary understanding of chemical behavior and related phenomena makes it impossible to accurately predict multi-component behavior in highly concentrated brines resulting in low yields and high costs. In addition, poor asset integrity created by scaling, fouling and corrosion while the inability to eliminate toxins waste water negatively impacts the environment.

APPLICATIONS

Increase yields and product quality, lower costs and toxic contamination

The ability to characterize complex chemistry behavior under a wide range of operating conditions in highly concentrated solutions coupled with deep domain knowledge of applications and industry experience unlocks significant business value.

Developed a more effective, end-to-end plant design for lithium extraction from brines in the USA; increased lithium yield by 15%, product purity by 20% and lowered heating costs by 15%.

Successfully mitigated corrosion risk for a rare-earth-element extraction plant by analyzing the design from the kiln digester to the carbonate precipitator and providing safe operating envelopes.

Analyzed evaporation behaviour of multiple salar brines and provided insights to optimize the process to produce different salable salts. This work led to a widely cited industry publication.

Maximized water reuse and minimized chemical treatment for a hard rock lithium project by analyzing beta-spodumene leaching through the softening steps to produce lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate crystals.

DIFFERENTIATION

Unique combination of expertise in chemistry, process simulation, applications engineering and industry knowledge

Only OLI delivers the blend of chemistry knowledge, deep understanding of applications, capability to perform mass, energy and species balance with an unparalleled software tool which includes the most comprehensive property database and trained experts to address complex process challenges in the mining and metals industry.

Standard consulting services

Services offerings with defined scope and deliverables

Health Check Services

One-day audit and assessment of health of equipment and processes with recommendations to improve operations performance. Scope includes electrolyte chemistry behavior and phenomena, corrosion, fouling and scaling damage, water and air quality.

Design Consulting Services

Four-to-five week engagements to design optimal processes and select materials of construction to maximize process yields, lower costs, address scaling, fouling and corrosion challenges, minimize chemical treatment, and eliminate toxins from water to increase sustainability.

Operations Consulting Services

Four-to-five week engagements to troubleshoot operations issues and develop recommendations to improve operations performance using integrity operating windows and chemistry insights to enhance asset integrity, operations efficiency and regulatory compliance.

Digital Transformation Services

Four-week projects to design, develop and implement capability to deliver automated insights on electrolyte chemistry phenomena, evaporation, separation, corrosion and water / wastewater treatment to research and engineering teams.

Six-to-twelve week projects to design, develop and deploy digital twin solutions for evaporation, separation, corrosion and water treatment management in chemicals processing operations with operational data integration, operations dashboards and KPIs.

Custom Capabilities

Turnkey consulting projects to meet your unique needs

OLI Consultants use their expertise in rigorous thermophysical modeling, process simulation and domain expertise to create a custom services engagement to address your unique needs. The OLI team can develop custom thermodynamic models or create a private property database with your data or simulate your proprietary process and provide design insights or troubleshoot operations issues. No matter what your process design or operations challenge, OLI can assist you if it requires chemistry and process simulation expertise.

Related RESOURCES

Proven experience across hundreds of Critical Materials Mining applications

Talk to our Mining experts about your challenges

OLI experts in chemistry, corrosion, process simulation, sustainability and digital transformation can address your needs