J. Andy Milton

Selective lithium extraction from brines by chemical reaction with battery materials

We demonstrate fast and efficient chemical redox insertion of lithium ions into solid FePO4 from lithium salt solutions contaminated with other cations. The method is illustrated with sodium thiosulfate, Na2S2O3, as a reducing agent that is found to have an optimum redox potential for this reaction. The method shows a very high selectivity for lithium extraction; enrichment in lithium concentration vs. other ions of more than 500 is achieved under the conditions relevant to lithium extraction from brines.

Analysis methods and reference concentrations of 12 minor and trace elements in fish blood plasma

A comprehensive review of the analytical literature revealed substantial under-representation of trace element concentrations in fish blood, particularly for marine species. We describe a simple dilution procedure to measure Li, Mg, K, Ca, Mn, Cu, Zn, Se, Rb, Sr, Ba and Pb concentrations in low volumes of blood plasma of adult plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) using high resolution-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (HR-ICP-MS). Captive male and female plaice (n = 18) were serially sampled for one year and samples collected outside of the spawning season (n = 157) used to estimate reference ranges for this species. Method accuracy was deemed satisfactory, based on its application to the analysis of a certified reference material. Precision was generally <3%, with the most conservative measure of precision being ≤10% for all elements except Pb (∼20%). This is the first study to analyse fish blood plasma by ICP-MS and includes some of the first reference ranges for trace element concentrations in fish blood.