Thermal diffusion separation concept and device implementation. Credit: Nature Water (2025). doi:10.1038/s44221-025-00428-5
A simple and cost-effective method developed by scientists at the Australian National University (ANU) can make the process of extracting valuable resources from saltwater deposits more environmentally friendly. This study is published in Nature Water.
Brine mining is important for lithium extraction, a critical component of battery manufacturing, except for the majority of global lithium production from continental saltwater deposits.
In 2024, ANU researchers developed the world’s first heat desalination method. There, water remains in the liquid phase throughout the process. They have now successfully applied this method to salt water concentrations.
The savings are caused by medium heat generated directly from sunlight, not electricity, or waste heat from machines such as air conditioners and industrial processes.
Chief investigator, Associate Professor Juan Felipe Torres, said he was the first mechanical and environmental engineer to propose the concept of thermal diffusion and desalination, and said the new research suggests the possibility of thermal diffusion to concentrate high-salinated salt water.
“Although existing technologies for desalination and salt water concentrations are well established, our thermal diffusion technology offers a promising alternative,” he said.
“Current desalination techniques, where salt is filtered through membranes, require a large amount of electricity and expensive materials that need to be maintained and maintained.
“Our thermal filling methods have been successfully used for desalination, reducing energy costs and corrosion issues.”
According to researchers at ANU, total liquid subliquid thermally diffusible brine concentrations provide a new solution for material extraction in several industries, including saltwater mining.
Juan Felipe Torres (L), an associate professor of ANU, says traditional reverse osmosis desalination techniques are costly, energy-intensive processes. Credit: Jamie Kidstone/Anu
“More recently, the same method has been applied to operate the salt concentration solution without evaporation, which also means that no valuable water is wasted in the process,” Associate Professor Torres said.
“Our goal is to replace traditional evaporation ponds, a technology that was thousands of years ago, allowing us to work with a significantly reduced environmental footprint, instead of using vast amounts of land area and water resources.
“For example, lithium is used in batteries, and lithium extraction can come from salt water, and this method can be used to enhance this process in the future.”
Dr. Shuqi Xu, a research fellow at ANU and co-author of the study, said the advantages of this technology include efficient separation of water from the ions without material.
“Our research shows how our methods manipulate salt water concentrations for salt production without evaporation,” she said.
“Future improvements could potentially increase flow and energy efficiency at least 40 times.”
ANU researchers have partnered with US-based company Wacomet Water Co to commercialize the technology in Australia and abroad.
Associate Professor Torres and his colleagues co-founded Soret Technologies, a spin-off from ANU.
“The vision of Soret Technologies is to revolutionize the salt water concentration and desalination process and increase cost-effectiveness through innovative thermal diffusion technologies,” Associate Professor Torres said.
Details: All liquid thermodesalination and brine concentrations via Shuqi Xu et al, Multichannel Thermodiffusion, Nature Water (2025). doi:10.1038/s44221-025-00428-5
Provided by Australian National University
Quote: Thermodiffusion Method will extract the environment of valuable materials from saltwater deposits obtained from July 9, 2025 from https://news/2025-07.
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