![]() As hydroxide it is necessary in small quantities for safe operation in pressurised water reactor (PWR) cooling systems as a pH stabilizer, to reduce corrosion in the primary circuit. Lithium-7 has two important uses in nuclear power due to its relative transparency to neutrons. Lithium has two stable isotopes, Li-6 and Li-7, the latter being 92.5% in nature (hence relative atomic mass of natural lithium of 6.94). The remaining lithium is produced through brines in Chile and Argentina, providing 22% and 8% respectively. However, a 2021 report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) suggests that, in the future the use of lithium will be dominated by clean energy technologies, with a 90% share of demand.Īccording to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the majority of lithium is produced through hard rock mining in Australia and China, producing 49% and 17% of global lithium resources respectively. The balance is used for ceramics and glass, as well as various other uses. This proportion is growing each year, and has risen from about 40% in 2016. The majority of mined lithium (about three-quarters) is used for batteries. Lithium is the lightest metal, which occurs in several hard rock types, notably spodumene, and in brines, hence it is often mined in salt lakes, particularly in South America. The world faces a potential shortage of lithium by 2025 due to rising demand for lithium.Li-6 is a source of tritium for nuclear fusion, through low-energy nuclear fission.Li-7 is a key component of fluoride coolant in molten salt reactors.Li-7 as a hydroxide is important in controlling the chemistry of PWR cooling systems.Lithium is best known today as an ingredient of lithium-ion batteries.Lithium hydroxide and lithium peroxide are used as carbon dioxide removal and air purification in spacecraft and submarines too. ![]() Lithium is also commonly used in greases, in metallurgy, in flares and pyrotechnics, etc. Lithium oxide, an inorganic chemical compound with lithium and oxide ions, is used as a flux in ceramic glazes. There is another general usage of lithium in ceramics and glass industry. Today rechargeable lithium batteries are commonly used for cell phones, cameras, and lots of other devices. Because of its high electrode potential, lithium is also used as the negative electrode in nonrechargeable lithium batteries. Many nonmetallic elements are scavenged by lithium. Lithium which is the lightest metallic element is used in heat transfer applications, and as a scavenger in metallurgy. For a variety of usages, lithium is alloyed with the metals like aluminum, magnesium, and other metals. A very important usage if lithium is in batteries, especially rechargeable ones for our modern communication devices. Lithium is toxic it is an alkali metal which easily reacts with water producing lithium hydroxide, used as an agent to absorb carbon dioxide. Lithium does not occur in its pure form in nature but can be found in a number of minerals. Therefore, it can be quite easily cut with a knife and is almost as light as wood. Named after the Greek word meaning stone, Lithium is a soft metal, with the lowest density of all metals in the Periodic Table.
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