Chapter 66 Lithium Extraction from Seawater
At eleven o'clock at night, Lin Mo sat alone in his office.
Outside the window, most of the lights at the base had been extinguished, with only a few windows in the distant laboratory building still glowing—Chen Xueming had left early today, but Zhang Zhe was still working overtime, and Li Xiao was likely staying up late again to write code.
Lin Mo turned off the desk lamp, plunging the room into darkness. This allowed him to focus better.
He took a deep breath and summoned the system interface in his mind.
A translucent light screen emerged in the darkness, and the familiar text appeared line by line:
【Current research points: 2040】
2040 points. It had increased a bit compared to a few days ago. The success of the Lithium-Sulfur Battery, the recognition from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the team's synergy—every bit of progress was being converted into research points.
Lin Mo's gaze fell on the technology tree column:
【Lithium Extraction from Seawater】 Complete Technology Package: 1500 points
1500 points. He could afford it.
But once exchanged, only 540 points would remain. If he encountered other emergencies later, he might find himself stretched thin.
He hesitated for a few seconds but quickly made a decision.
The issue of lithium resources was imminent. The think tank report was already out, and foreign powers could act at any time. If he waited until they were truly being throttled to find a solution, it would be too late.
Preparing for a rainy day meant acting now, while the 'rain' had not yet arrived.
He issued the command in his mind:
Exchange: 【Lithium Extraction from Seawater】 Complete Technology Package (1500 points)
The system responded immediately:
【Exchange confirmed. Consumed 1500 research points, 540 points remaining.】
【Lithium Extraction from Seawater Complete Technology Package】 is decompressing and transferring...
Lin Mo felt a slight wave of dizziness, as if countless pieces of information were flooding into his mind simultaneously. He was no stranger to this feeling—it had been the same when he exchanged for the Room-Temperature Superconductivity blueprints last time.
But the amount of information this time was significantly larger.
Molecular structures of adsorbents, synthesis routes, process parameters; design blueprints for adsorption towers, fluid dynamics simulations, optimal operating conditions; formulas for desorption solutions, recycling schemes, energy consumption calculations; and even a complete layout for a lithium extraction production line, equipment selection, investment estimates...
Countless images flashed through his mind like a fast-forwarded movie.
A few minutes later, the dizziness gradually faded. Lin Mo opened his eyes and found his palms were covered in sweat.
He closed his eyes and tried to recall the information that had just flooded in. That knowledge felt as if it had existed for a long time, clear and distinguishable—
The core of the manganese-based adsorbent was a special λ-MnO₂ crystal structure. By precisely controlling the calcination temperature and atmosphere of the precursor, a nano-scale ion sieve could be formed. This adsorbent had extremely high selectivity for lithium ions; in a mixed solution containing sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium, the lithium adsorption rate could reach over 95%.
Adsorption capacity... Lin Mo searched his memory for that number—150 mg/g.
150 mg/g. It was 50% higher than the 100 he had casually mentioned before.
He sucked in a breath of cold air.
If this data was real, the cost of extracting lithium from seawater would drop directly to a level comparable to extracting lithium from ore. Perhaps even lower—because the raw material was seawater, which was inexhaustible.
Lin Mo opened his eyes and looked out the window.
The night was deep, and the Kunlun Mountains were as silent as ever.
But in his mind, he already possessed an invisible treasure.
Early the next morning, Lin Mo arrived at the laboratory earlier than usual.
He turned on his computer and began organizing the information he had received last night. The knowledge transferred by the system was imprinted directly in his mind, but he needed to convert it into shareable forms—papers, data, and experimental protocols.
It couldn't be too detailed, or it would arouse suspicion. But it couldn't be too vague either, or Chen Xueming and the others wouldn't be able to operate.
He deliberated and wrote a 'Feasibility Pre-research Plan for Lithium Extraction from Seawater,' which included several key technical directions:
Synthesis method for nano-structured manganese-based adsorbents (providing rough temperature and atmosphere ranges)
Process for titanium doping to inhibit manganese dissolution loss (providing a suggested range for the doping ratio)
Optimization ideas for the adsorption-desorption cycle (proposing a new desorption solution formula)
Equipment selection suggestions for scaled-up production (listing several possible options)
After writing the last word, Lin Mo checked the time—seven-fifty. It was time to go to the laboratory.
He saved the document, printed a few copies, and walked out of the office.
Pushing open the door to the laboratory, Chen Xueming had already arrived. He was standing in front of a whiteboard, staring blankly at the flow chart drawn last night.
“Dr. Chen, morning.” Lin Mo walked over and handed him the printed plan, “Take a look at this.”
Chen Xueming took it, looked down for a few moments, and then froze.
“Teacher Lin, this is...”
“Some directions I thought of while looking through materials last night,” Lin Mo said nonchalantly. “See if they have any value.”
Chen Xueming flipped through the pages, his brow furrowing tighter and tighter. When he reached the last page, he looked up, his eyes full of shock:
“Teacher Lin, this... you came up with all this in one night?”
Lin Mo smiled: “I've been thinking about it for a long time; I just organized it last night.”
Chen Xueming was silent for a few seconds, then said:
“Teacher Lin, do you know what these directions mean?”
Lin Mo didn't speak.
Chen Xueming pointed to the first page: “Nano-structured manganese-based adsorbents—the whole world is chasing this direction, but no one has given specific synthesis parameters. The temperature range, atmosphere control, and precursor proportions you've written here—though not a complete formula, they already point to a clear path.”
He flipped to the second page again: “Titanium doping to inhibit manganese dissolution, a doping ratio of 3%-8%—I've checked the literature for this range, and no one has published it. How did you know?”
Lin Mo maintained his smile: “Searching through materials, plus a bit of intuition.”
Chen Xueming stared at him for a few seconds, then shook his head:
“Teacher Lin, you... you really are hard to read.”
But he didn't press further, instead lowering his head to continue reading the plan.
At that moment, Li Xiao and Zhang Zhe arrived as well. Chen Xueming immediately handed the plan to them: “Take a look at this.”
The two of them huddled together and quickly browsed through it. After Li Xiao finished, her eyes went wide: “Teacher Lin, you wrote this?! This is too detailed!”
Zhang Zhe showed a rare expression of surprise: “This desorption solution formula has a very novel approach. If ammonium bicarbonate is used instead of hydrochloric acid, it really can reduce equipment corrosion, and ammonium bicarbonate can be recovered...”
Lin Mo waved his hand: “Don't get excited yet. These are all theoretical deductions and need experimental verification. Dr. Chen, how do you think we should proceed?”
Chen Xueming thought for a moment and said:
“First step, synthesize this nano-manganese oxide you mentioned. Teacher Zhang, you're the expert on materials; can you give it a try?”
Zhang Zhe nodded: “I can. What equipment is needed?”
“tube furnace, muffle furnace, ball mill—that's enough,” Chen Xueming said. “I'll design several sets of precursor ratios first, and we'll test them batch by batch.”
Li Xiao raised her hand: “I'll be responsible for recording data and checking the literature to see if there are any similar reports.”
Lin Mo nodded: “Then it's settled. Dr. Chen will take the lead, Teacher Zhang will be in charge of synthesis, and Li Xiao will handle data and literature. I'll be responsible for... thinking wild thoughts.”
They all laughed.
Over the next few days, a new 'battlefield' emerged in the laboratory.
Zhang Zhe's tube furnace almost never stopped, as batch after batch of precursor powders were calcined at high temperatures, turning into black or dark brown adsorbent materials. Chen Xueming tested the adsorption performance of these materials every day—weighing a certain mass of adsorbent, placing it into a simulated seawater solution, shaking, letting it settle, sampling, and analyzing.
Li Xiao was busy recording all the data, using a program she wrote to automatically generate adsorption curves. At the same time, she wasn't idle; she scraped the latest literature on Lithium Extraction from Seawater every day to see if there were any ideas worth borrowing.
Lin Mo would come by from time to time to check progress, occasionally offering some suggestions. Those suggestions were often so precise that Chen Xueming wondered—did Lin Mo have an entire database in his head?
For instance, on the third day, a batch of samples synthesized by Zhang Zhe had an adsorption capacity of only 20 mg/g, far below expectations. While Chen Xueming was frowning in worry, Lin Mo walked over and said:
“Try lowering the calcination temperature from 800 degrees to 750 degrees. Slow down the heating rate as well, to 5 degrees per minute.”
Zhang Zhe did as instructed. As a result, the adsorption capacity of the new batch of samples doubled directly, reaching 42 mg/g.
Chen Xueming looked at the data, speechless for a long time.
“Teacher Lin,” he finally couldn't help but ask, “how did you know to lower the temperature?”
Lin Mo smiled: “Intuition. If the temperature is too high, the nano-structure collapses easily.”
The explanation made sense, but Chen Xueming always felt it wasn't that simple.
On the seventh day, the first batch of truly 'high-performance' adsorbents was born.
The test results showed that the adsorption capacity reached 98 mg/g, close to the 100 Lin Mo had mentioned before. Furthermore, after five adsorption-desorption cycles, the capacity decay was less than 10%, far superior to the levels reported in the literature.
Chen Xueming stood in front of the test bench, looking at the almost flat curve on the screen, his hands trembling slightly.
“Teacher Lin,” he turned to look at Lin Mo, his voice somewhat raspy, “98 mg/g. Do you know what this means?”
Lin Mo nodded: “It means that Lithium Extraction from Seawater is no longer a dream.”
Chen Xueming took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down:
“If this data can be stabilized, plus the desorption solution optimization and the completion of the cycling process... the cost per kilogram of lithium really could drop to the same level as extracting lithium from ore.”
Li Xiao whispered from the side: “Then we won't have to fear being throttled in the future?”
Chen Xueming looked at her and nodded vigorously:
“Right. We won't have to fear it anymore.”
Zhang Zhe showed a rare smile: “This is just the beginning. There's still more room for optimization later.”
Lin Mo looked at them, a complex emotion rising in his heart.
The system provided the technology, but the ones truly turning that technology into reality were these people. Without Chen Xueming's earnestness, Zhang Zhe's precision, and Li Xiao's meticulousness, the data on those blueprints would forever remain just data.
“Good work, everyone,” he said. “Go back and rest early today. Starting tomorrow, we continue optimizing.”
The few of them responded and began packing their things.
Lin Mo walked to the window and looked at the distant Kunlun Mountains.
The setting sun slanted down, plating the snow on the mountain peaks with a layer of gold.
He thought of the prompt in the system: 【Blueprints transferring】.
The blueprints had arrived.
Next was turning them into something truly usable.
In the evening, Lin Mo returned to his office and opened the system once more.
Current research points: 540
He had consumed 1500 points, leaving 540. It was enough, but not much. If he needed to exchange for other technologies later, he would have to use them sparingly.
He entered a command line into the system:
Query: Prerequisites required for the industrialization of Lithium Extraction from Seawater technology
The system quickly popped up:
【Industrialization Conditions for Lithium Extraction from Seawater】
Large-scale production process for adsorbents (Current status: laboratory-level, needs scaling up)
Engineering design of adsorption towers (Needs fluid dynamics simulation and pilot production line verification)
desorption solution circulation system (Needs optimization for energy consumption and recovery rate)
Environmental impact assessment (Adsorbent waste disposal, tailwater discharge)
Economic model verification (Needs construction of a hundred-ton level pilot production line)
Lin Mo looked through them one by one, getting a clear picture in his mind.
This was only the beginning.
True industrialization still had a long way to go.
But the direction had been set; no matter how long the road was, it could be walked to the end.
He turned off the system and walked to the window.
Outside, the night grew deeper. The lights in the distant laboratory building were still on—Chen Xueming and the others probably hadn't left yet, still excited over that 98 mg/g adsorbent.
Lin Mo looked at those lights, a smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.
Preparing for a rainy day.
That phrase was becoming a reality.