The coming lithium rush

Ok lithium rush doesn’t have the same power as say a gold rush... However, that is my prediction, with all the energy concerns, hybrid cars, cordless tools, cell phones, etc lithium (as in lithium ion batteries) will see a huge surge in demand. The Chinese have recently started a big lithium operation, but America will want its own source since cheap lithium is not only good for the alternative energy people, it is a matter of national security. Guess where we can get lithium? As a byproduct of oil extraction, since lithium occurs in brine that is mixed with the gas and oil.

Lithium extraction actual represents a great way to use renewable energy to get something very valuable for next to nothing. A wind generator is used to drive a compressor which injects nitrogen or runs a pump to inject water into an oil well that is only producing water, then a secondary well is used to extract the strong brine solution at high pressure. The natural pressure of the well drives the water through an RO membrane, making the brine solution even more concentrate. (The “waste water” is actually drinkable, and can be sold to the local farmers or communities, or reinjected.) The supersaturated brine is agitated and any crystals that fall out are tossed since they are almost pure NaCl. The brine is allowed to evaporate until the “salt” is completely dried. The “salt” is then washed with methanol since LiCl is almost 3000% more soluble in methanol the NaCl or KCl. Normally this process wouldn’t be all that profitable since recovering the methanol requires a lot of energy, but in this case the recovery is nearly free. Why? Because the brine comes out of the ground at >160F and therefore most be cooled before it goes through the RO unit, conveniently this is almost the same temperature that methanol boils. With countercurrent cooling, and a flash evaporator the methanol is recovered, the LiCl (now about 95% pure) is dried, and brine cooled all basically with no additional input of energy other then what was used to pressurize the well, which can be done for a very low cost everytime the wind blows. Even better at least in Texas the places where the wind blows alot, also have lots of nonproducing wells. So you save a couple million dollars right from the get go since you can buy someone else's very expensive but otherwise worthless hole in the ground.
The only question is can it be done for about $50 a pound?