Leading Market Player Albemarle is Equipped With a Lithium-Hydroxide Production Line
- 13-Mar-2023 7:13 PM
- Journalist: Motoki Sasaki
GEA Group, the German market leader in the Food & Beverages sector, is equipping two additional production lines for energy storage and the production of Lithium Hydroxide in Albemarle Corporation. GEA will supply four types of centrifuges: screen screw, decanter, peeler, and pusher for the processing line of each refinery.
The construction of the Kemerton plant started back in 2019, with two processing trains expected to produce 50,000 tons of product per year once fully operational. The plant is currently being prepared for full operation in 2023. The expansion plans are also processing which will increase the capacity to 100,000 tons per year upon completion.
Lithium Hydroxide is an important specialty chemical used to produce batteries in electric vehicles and has other applications such as photo development, borates, and ceramic products. It is the most preferred among all the lithium compounds as they have extreme electrochemical potential and low density. The approximate value of the project is 24 million euros.
The centrifuges for filtration and sedimentation would be installed at the company’s Kemerton lithium hydroxide processing plant in western Australia.
As per the Managing Director of GEA Westfalia Separator Australia, Goran Erdevicki, “Albemarle, the largest producer of Lithium in the world, already delivered and commissioned the first two centrifuge packages in 2019. The new order is a nice confirmation of the collaboration between our two companies. Therefore, we are thrilled that we can now equip two further new production lines with filtration and sedimentation centrifuges.”
GEA helps its customers in the realization of Lithium process plants with a comprehensive range of technologies. Centrifuge plays an important in the whole process, especially in the mechanical separation of sedimentation.
The demand for Lithium in its pure form and lithium derivatives is increasing firmly worldwide. Particularly, its use in electromobility, metal is currently becoming one of the most prominent raw materials in the world.
