Academic communication----Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes Chinese Academy of Sciences

ISL Engages in Collaborative Dialogue with Western Mining Group Technology Development Co., Ltd.

On September 12, Wang Huatai, General Manager of Western Mining Group Technology Development Co., Ltd., along with Deputy General Managers Luo Kehua and Liu Sanping, visited ISL for a collaborative dialogue focused on aligning demands. The meeting included ISL's Deputy Director Zheng Shili, Deputy Director Feng Haitao, heads of the Science and Technology Department, and representatives from relevant research units.The delegation began their visit with a tour of ISL’s technology achievement exhibition hall, gaining insights into the institute's history, research platforms, talent development, scientific accomplishments, significant historical contributions, and advancements in the development and utilization of salt lake resources.During the meeting, Zheng Shili extended a warm welcome to Wang Huatai and his team, expressing a strong desire to leverage this exchange as a springboard for identifying precise collaboration opportunities and deepening partnerships between the institute and the enterprise. The head of the Science and Technology Department presented an overview of ISL, highlighting its research progress and a series of notable technological achievements. Wang Huatai provided insights into the operations of Western Mining Group Technology Development Co., Ltd., focusing on the challenges and technical hurdles faced during production processes.Research teams from ISL's Salt Lake Resource Chemistry Laboratory and the Engineering Technology Center for Comprehensive Utilization of Salt Lake Resources shared their expertise on several topics. These included extracting lithium from high magnesium-to-lithium ratio brine using extraction methods, developing magnesium-based functional materials, backfilling and ecological restoration in mining areas, lithium extraction from oilfield water, and the preparation and application of oil-water separation materials, as well as the process transformation of potassium magnesium sulfate fertilizers. The participants engaged in thorough discussions, reaching numerous intentions for collaboration.Looking ahead, both parties will concentrate on the chemical industry related to salt lakes and associated mineral development. They aim to target key core technologies and actively collaborate on significant scientific and technological initiatives, promoting the deep integration of production, education, and research.Meeting venue

2024-10-22

Vice Mayor Liu Zhe and his delegation from Haicheng City visited ISL

On November 9th, Liu Zhe, Vice Mayor of Haicheng City, Liaoning Province, and his delegation visited ISL.
　　On November 9th, Liu Zhe, Vice Mayor of Haicheng City, Liaoning Province, and his delegation visited ISL. Liu Zhe and his delegation first visited the scientific and technological achievements exhibition hall in ISL. They obtained a comprehensive overview of the contributions, history, research platforms, talent pool, and advancements in the field of magnesium resource exploitation in salt lakes research.
　　Liu Zhe and his delegation were cordially welcomed by Wu Zhijian, the director of ISL, who also gave them an overview of the institute's operations and the use of magnesium resources in salt lakes during the symposium. In the area of magnesium resource usage, he expressed the hope that both parties could take full advantage of their advantages to establish close cooperation, which would facilitate the conversion of pertinent scientific and technological advancements into practical solutions. Liu Zhe provided more details about the circumstances in Haicheng City and expressed the hope that the technological advancements of ISL could be applied there, utilizing brucite, serpentine, and other locally available resources to create premium magnesium chemical products and advance the brucite-magnesite industry chain.
　　The head of ISL's pertinent research team provided an update on the developments of the magnesium hydroxide and magnesium aluminum hydrotalcite projects and developed a thorough awareness of the technical needs of Haicheng City's businesses. Simultaneously, both sides engaged in comprehensive dialogue over the evolution of accomplishments, industrialization, and cooperative procedures, ultimately arriving at initial agreements to cooperate. Attending the symposium were representatives from the technology department of ISL, Haicheng Jinghua New Materials Company, and the Haicheng City Industry and Information Technology Bureau. Team leaders in related research lines were also present.
　　

2023-11-30

ISL has made progress in collaboration with China University of Geosciences (Beijing) on the exploration of the Nangqian evaporite

Recently, the geophysical exploration research teams of Professor Qian Rongyi of China University of Geosciences Beijing (CUGB) and Ma Haizhou
　　 Recently, the geophysical exploration research teams of Professor Qian Rongyi of China University of Geosciences Beijing (CUGB) and Ma Haizhou, an ISL researcher, carried out seismic geophysical exploration in the Nangqian Basin using CUGB's new UAV remote source seismic detection technology, which has its own independent intellectual property rights and is suitable for the complex environment of the plateau.A foundation for the features of salt and potassium formation and the forecasting of mineralization in the salt-forming belt was supplied by the geographical distribution and magnitude of evaporite in the exploration region. The knowledge of salt and potassium in the belt of salt formation is greatly aided by the theoretical and practical implications of this geophysical investigation.
　　 The cornerstone of China, a nation with a sizable population and extensive agriculture, is food security. Food production requires potash, and China's arable land has significant potassium deficiency. China's potash resources are exceedingly scarce, especially given the absence of significant amounts of soluble solid potash. Researching potash mineralization law and prospecting prediction in China, innovating potash mineralization theory and prospecting technology and methods, and providing a scientific foundation for finding new potash resource bases are all urgent tasks for Chinese scientific and technological workers. According to studies, the Tethys Structural Area saline basin around the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is the crucial region for advancing the exploration of large-scale solid potash resources in China. The Nangqian-Cocoxili terrestrial salt belt is one of the key potassium-forming potential locations in China, and ISL has long conducted studies on the local mineralization conditions of potash deposits.
　　 Potassium and sodium salts have a symbiotic relationship. The "saffron salt" resources of the Nangqian Basin are abundant, and the drilling data that is now available indicate that the cumulative thickness of the stony salt layer in this area is 80 meters. Nangqian County is rich in sodium chloride resources, and its traditional handmade saffron salt making skills have a long history and deep culture, which is a handicraft treasure born in agricultural civilization, and it is rare to inherit to this day. As a unique cultural carrier, saffron salt has great development potential, and the integration of saffron salt development with cultural tourism industry is of great significance to the prosperity of Tibetan society. The geophysical exploration of evaporite deposits in the Nangqian Basin has important guiding significance for analyzing the development potential of saffron salt resources in Nangqian and evaluating the sustainable utilization capacity of salt resources.
　　ISL and China University of Geosciences (Beijing) jointly carry out geophysical work
　　Remote source drone
　　

2023-07-18

ISL won two Xining City Natural Science Achievement Awards

Recently, the results of the selection of the 2020-2021 Natural Science Excellent Academic Achievement Awards in Xining have been announced. ISL won two natural science achievement awards.
　　Recently, the results of the selection of the 2020-2021 Natural Science Excellent Academic Achievement Awards in Xining have been announced. ISL won two natural science achievement awards.
　　The accomplishment “Lithium recovery from effluent of spent lithium battery recycling process using solvent extraction” took home the top honor. It mainly aims to solve the problem of low lithium yield in the recycling process of waste lithium batteries, which causes waste of lithium resources. It suggested to use a new extraction method to effectively extract lithium from the leftover lithium battery tailings. Through balance extraction studies, the effects of important parameters on the lithium extraction effect were examined. These parameters included solution pH value, saponification level, solution lithium concentration, and phase ratio. Under optimized conditions, more than 90% of the lithium can be effectively recovered. The extracting organic phase can be recycled and no emulsification phenomenon occurs during the entire extraction process.
　　A new process for efficient extraction of lithium from the tailings of waste lithium batteries has been proposed. The effects of key parameters such as solution pH value, saponification degree, solution lithium concentration, and phase ratio on the lithium extraction effect were investigated through balance extraction experiments. Under optimized conditions, more than 90% of the lithium can be effectively recovered. The extracting organic phase can be recycled and no emulsification phenomenon occurs during the entire extraction process. This research provides a new process for the efficient recovery of lithium in waste lithium batteries. Associate researcher Zhang Licheng is the first author of this achievement. (Full text link: doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.122840)
　　The achievement “Effects of fly ash, phosphoric acid, and nano-silica on the properties of magnesium oxychloride cement” won the third prize. It mainly aims to solve the problem of poor water resistance of magnesium oxychloride cement (MOC) materials. A composite additive mainly composed of fly ash, phosphoric acid, and nano-silica is proposed to improve the performance of MOC materials. Through microscopic, phase, macroscopic physical property testing and hydration mechanism analysis, the effect of different doping forms on the water resistance of MOC is compared in detail. It is described how changes in microstructure affect macroscopic mechanical properties and how this law works. This study offers new approaches and theoretical guidelines for enhancing MOC materials' water resistance. Associate researcher Zheng Weixin is the main author of this achievement. (Full text link: doi:10.1016/j.ceramint.2021.08.347)
　　In the 2020-2021 Natural Science Excellent Academic Achievement Awards in Xining, a total of 76 excellent academic achievements in science, engineering, agriculture, medicine, comprehensive and monographs, research reports and other fields were collected. According to the “Xining Natural Science Excellent Academic Achievement Review and Reward Measures”, 17 excellent academic achievements in natural science were determined. Among them: 3 first prizes, 5 second prizes, and 9 third prizes.
　　A total of 76 exceptional academic achievements in science, engineering, agriculture, medicine, comprehensive and monographs, research reports, and other subjects were gathered for the 2020–2021 Natural Science exceptional Academic Achievement Awards in Xining. 17 outstanding academic achievements in natural science were determined in accordance with the rules. 3 first awards, 5 second prizes, and 9 third prizes were among them.
　　Mechanism of lithium extraction process with diketone extraction system
　　Extraction of process lithium tailing from waste lithium battery recovery
　　Practical application scenarios of magnesium cement research results
　　

2023-06-01

New progress of study on brine-type lithium deposits in West Kunlun area of Xinjiang

In recent years, several super-massive pegmatite deposits have been discovered in the West Kunlun region of the Tibetan Plateau.
　　In recent years, several super-massive pegmatite deposits have been discovered in the West Kunlun region of the Tibetan Plateau. At the same time, many lithium-rich salt lakes developed in intermountain basins in this region, such as the typical Kushui Lake, Huangcao Lake and others. These brine-type lithium deposits and adjacent pegmatite-type lithium deposits are ideal cases to study the genetic mechanisms of lithium-rich salt lakes and their relation to pegmatite-type lithium deposits in this region.
　　The research team from the Laboratory of Geology and Environment of Salt Lakes of Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes, Chinese Academy of Sciences, conducted a systematic field geological survey and sample collection for the aforementioned typical salt lakes. Based on the analysis of hydrochemistry and isotope geochemistry, the sources, distribution characteristics, migration and enrichment rule of lithium from "source" to "sink" in the lithium-rich fluids in this area were preliminarily determined, and the correlation between brine-type lithium deposits and pegmatite-type lithium deposits was discussed. In addition, a metallogenic conceptual model was developed for typical salt lake lithium deposits in the intermountain basin of West Kunlun. This study is a new achievement in the recent research on the genetic mechanism of brine-type lithium deposits in the Tibetan plateau.
　　The results show that the hydrochemistry composition and sources of elements of rivers in the catchment are controlled by the weathering of evaporite and silicate rocks, which are closely related to the widely distributed felsic igneous rocks of this region. In particular, the abundance of typical hydrothermal enriched elements (Co, Ni, Cs, etc.) in springs is several times higher than that in other recharge rivers, and there is a positive correlation with Li molarity, indicating that deep geothermal fluids in the study area also provide abundant sources of rare elements for the lake. The results of lithium isotope analysis show that the characteristics of high Li concentration and low δ7Li value in the lithium-rich brine are mainly the result of hydrothermal water-rock interaction in the deep crust and weathering in the near-surface.
　　In addition, with the migration of surface lithium-rich fluids, the soluble lithium showed a trend of continuous enrichment during the process of constant evaporation and runoff mixing, indicating that the deep lithium-rich fluids inflow and intense evaporation under drought conditions were the main mechanisms of rapid lithium enrichment in salt lakes. The positive correlation between Li concentration and δ7Li value along the recharge direction indicates that the adsorption effect of secondary minerals on 6Li still exists even at the small watershed scale in the alpine environment, which leads to a certain degree of lithium isotope fractionation.
　　This study contributes to the further understanding of the sources and enrichment processes of lithium in lithium-rich salt lakes, and provides new evidence for an in-depth understanding of the genetic mechanisms of brine-type lithium deposits. At the same time, it also provides a brand-new idea to guide the search for hidden hard-rock-type lithium deposits or potential brine-type lithium deposits.
　　These findings were recently published in the Ore Geology Reviews under the title of Origin of lithium-rich salt lakes on the western Kunlun Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau: Evidence from hydrogeochemistry and lithium isotopes. Dr. Yulong Li is the lead author and Dr. Xiying Zhang is the corresponding author. Dr. Maoyong He from the Earth Environment Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Dr. Weiliang Miao from the Qinghai Institute of Salt Lake of the Chinese Academy of Sciences were essential contributors and co-authors of this study. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U22A20573), the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research (STEP) (2019QZKK0805), the Western Light Foundation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Shaanxi Provincial Natural Science Foundation for Distinguished Young Scholars (2022JC), and the Youth Innovation Cross Team of Basic Research Program of Qinghai Institute of Salt lakes, CAS (ISLJCTD-2022-2).
　　Link address for full text: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oregeorev.2023.105356
　　Figure 1. Diagram of the relationship of Li concentration and δ7Li between different water samples, surrounding bedrock and pegmatitic lithium deposits in Kushui Lake catchment.
　　Figure 2. Migration and enrichment process of lithium and its evolution rules in the Kushui Lake catchment.
　　

2023-03-22

Qinghai Institute of Salt Lake made progress in the research about mechanism of boron isotope fractionation in the salt lake system

Boron (B) isotopes are widely used in studies of water–rock interaction and earth surface processes. Boron (B) isotopes are widely used in studies of water–rock interaction and earth surface processes. The δ11B is a potentially attractive proxy of seawater pH, as the relative abundance of the two primary aqueous B species in seawater (boric acid, H3BO3 and borate, B(OH4)-) is strongly pH-dependent. In the process of marine carbonate deposition, the fractionation of the B isotope is controlled by the proportion of H3BO3 and B(OH4)- in seawater. In addition to H3BO3 and B(OH4)-, there are polyborates (e.g., B3O3(OH)4-, B4O5(OH)42-, and B5O6(OH)4-) in salt-lake brine, and their impacts on B isotope fractionation are still unclear. Notable, significant differences are observed in the degrees of fractionation of B isotope during the deposition of carbonates in marine and salt-lake; nonetheless, studies on the internal reasons for this significant difference between the marine and salt-lake environments are scarce, limiting the application of B isotope in salt lakes. In this study, a series of calcite sedimentary experiments in mother liquor with different B-O compounds was conducted at a constant pH of 8.20 (±0.05). The results showed the incorporation of H3BO3 through polyborates into calcite during the precipitation of calcite, thus reducing the B isotope fractionation degree between the mother liquor and calcite. This study provides an experimental basis for explaining the differences in B isotope fractionation between marine and terrestrial environments and the inversion of paleo-salinity using the B isotope of sedimentary carbonate. These findings were recently published in the Journal of Chemical Geology under the title of Influence of polyborate ions on the fractionation of B isotopes during calcite deposition. Mr. Gu Huanen from Qinghai Institute of Salt Lake is the first author, Professor Ma Yunqi from Qinghai Institute of Salt Lake is the corresponding author. This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41473117) and Instrument and Equipment Function Development Technology Innovation Project of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. 2018gz012). Link address for full text: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2023.121387
　　Figure 1. Raman spectra of B-O compounds in aqueous solutions with different boron concentrations. (a) Simulated seawater, (b, c, d) simulated brine with different boron. concentrations
　　Figure 2. Boron isotope characteristics of products obtained from calcite deposition experiment of mother liquor with different boron concentrations (or forms)
　　

2023-03-03

The project of "key technology of the circulating process for the electrosynthesis of sodium dichromate and its industrialization of 50000 tons " of ISL Won the Title of "China's Good Technology"

The China Association of Productivity Promotion Centers (CPPC) held the 2021 annual productivity promotion award ceremony and the award ceremony of the title of “China Good Technology” in December 2022. The China Association of Productivity Promotion Centers (CPPC) held the 2021 annual productivity promotion award ceremony and the award ceremony of the title of “China Good Technology” in December 2022. Liu Yulan, president of the CPPC, Shen Changjiang, executive vice president and secretary-general, Han Lijuan, chairman of the board of supervisors, and more than 9200 representatives of the national science and technology service institutions and productivity promotion centers attended the meeting online. The project of "key technology of the circulating process for the electrosynthesis of sodium dichromate and its industrialization of 50000 tons" of ISL won the title of “China Good Technology”. The project has been systematically researching the technique of electrochemical chromate preparation since 2007. After nearly ten years of accumulation, the technological advancements have been gradually transformed with the help of Qinghai Province and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Since July 2015, Qinghai Bohong Chemical Technology Co., Ltd. has invested about 290 million yuan to build a demonstration production line of " key technology of the circulating process for the electrosynthesis of sodium dichromate and its industrialization of 50000 tons " in December 2020. The obtained crystal morphology of sodium dichromate dihydrate is good, and the main content of the product is ≥ 99.7%, which satisfied the requirements of industrial sodium dichromate superior product. This is a significant step in the development of the new green cycle process by ISL for the electrosynthesis of sodium dichromate and also shows that Qinghai Bohong Chemical Technology Co., Ltd. has joined the ranks of the world's most cutting-edge chromate manufacturing companies. The title of "China's Good Technology" is a brand of scientific and technological achievements collection project independently established by CPPC in 2014 with the support of the Ministry of Science and Technology and other relevant departments. Its objectives are to investigate promising technologies and projects, foster innovation, ignite the creative spirit, encourage the transformation of successes, showcase Chinese technology, and win the approval of the government's system for boosting national productivity as well as the vast majority of businesses. The project with the title of "China's Good Technology" will be widely promoted at home and abroad through various platforms of the CPPC, and will receive services such as transformation of scientific and technological achievements, brand image building, technical transaction cooperation, financial investment support, etc.
　　

2023-02-24

Major progress made in the research and development of key technologies of cleaner chromate production

The electrochemical separation technology group of the Qinghai Institute of Salt Lake Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences has been committed to the development and application of chromate clean technology for ages. The electrochemical separation technology group of the Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has been committed to the development and application of clean chromate technology for decades. In view of the problems of low resource utilization and large emission of chromium-containing residues in the traditional chromium salt production process, a green and convenient synthesis process for Na2CrO4 was developed by electrochemical oxidation of high carbon ferrochromium in sodium hydroxide aqueous solution at room temperature and atmosphere pressure. The effective separation of chromium and iron elements was realized and the solution of chromium salt was obtained. The research was published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials (A concise and mild green synthetic route of sodium chromate through ferrochrome electrochemical oxidation and in-situ purification, Journal of Hazardous Materials 2020, 387, 121699.). This study suggests a novel green way for chromate chemical production industry. In addition, this research won the award project of 2021 National Disruptive Technology Innovation Competition, which is the only scientific and technological achievement in Qinghai Province that won this honor. Though the content of the impurities in high carbon ferrochromium is greatly reduced compared with chromite, some trace impurities such as Si and V still enter into the chromium salt products in the form of soluble salts. To ensure the purity and quality of chromates it is necessary to remove impurities from hexavalent chromium system without secondary pollution. At present,the process of neutralization aluminum removal and calcification vanadium removal is widely used in typical chromate production process. However, the gradual separation method of Al (III) and V (V) removal produces large amounts of Cr (VI) containing Al(OH)3 and Ca(VO3)2 residue, which would seriously affect the cleanliness of the new process. Thus, from the perspective of the requirements of environmental protection and resource recovery, an in-situ purification method was proposed to prepare chromium(III) compound adsorbent via hydrothermal partial reduction of Na2Cr2O7 multiplex solutions to synergistic remove Si (IV) and V (V). The results show that in the in-situ hydrothermal process of pH 7, 160 ℃ for 8 h, the Si (IV) and V (V) removal rates of the actual chromate production Na2Cr2O7-Na2SiO3-NaVO3-H2O solution can reach 92.27% and 94.81%, respectively, which is about 30% higher than the ex-situ removal efficiency under the same conditions. The trivalent chromium adsorbent was converted into nanometer chromium trioxide with good microstructure and pigment properties by simple desorption and calcination processes after adsorption, so as to realize the green and high-value conversion of chromium resources.The research was published in the TOP journal of Separation and Purification Technology (In-situ synthesis of CrOx(OH)3-2x for synchronous adsorption of Si and V from high concentration Cr (VI) solution and converted to excellent Cr2O3 pigment. Separation and Purification Technology 2023, 309, 122973). Dr. Li Xinqian is the first author of this paper, and Li Bo and Feng Haitao are the co-corresponding authors. This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation in Qinghai Province (2019-ZJ-940Q) and Major Science and Technology Project in Qinghai Province (No: 2016-GX-A10).
　　Link address for full text: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.121699
　　 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2022.122973
　　Figure 1 Schematic diagram of in-situ adsorption of Si and V impurities in hexavalent chromium solution by trivalent chromium adsorbent and their transformation process
　　Figure 2 Certificate of Winning Projects in 2021 National Disruptive Technology Innovation Competition
　　

2023-02-09

New progress made in single-grain luminescence dating of complex sediments

Chronology is an important prerequisite for revealing the evolution process of salt lake, understanding the response mechanism of lake ecosystem to climate change, and accurately revealing the law of salt formation and mineralization in salt lake.
　　Chronology is an important prerequisite for revealing the evolution process of salt lake, understanding the response mechanism of lake ecosystem to climate change, and accurately revealing the law of salt formation and mineralization in salt lake. Due to the complexity of salt lake sediments on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, there is a bottleneck in the study of complex chronology related to salt lake evolution. Luminescence dating is now widely applied to the dating of late Quaternary sediments, but its application in the complex sediments of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is limited due to problems of poorly bleached and signal dimming. The newly developed single-grain luminescence dating method and calculation model are expected to solve the bottleneck problem of the dating of complex samples such as salt lake sediments on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It is one of the current research hotspots in the field of luminescence dating to improve the dating technique for detecting poorly bleached sediments and determine their deposition ages reliably.
　　In this study, AMS 14C dating, single-grain quartz OSL dating, and single-grain K-feldspar pIRIR dating using pIR50IR170and pIR200IR290 signals were applied to the fluvial-paleosol sequence at the archaeology site Shalongka (SLK20) in the upper Yellow River valley on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, where Paleolithic, Neolithic, and Bronze Age cultural layers were found. Utilizing luminescence characteristics analysis and a comparison of quartz OSL ages, K-feldspar pIRIR ages, and charcoal 14C ages, the reliability of single-grain quartz OSL and K-feldspar pIRIR ages was tested. Our results indicate that single-grain K-feldspar pIR50IR170 dating with the minimum age model (MAM) can be used to date Holocene fluvial deposit that have been poorly bleached. Based on the age-depth model, proxy data of the SLK20 grain size and magnetic susceptibility demonstrate that Yellow River overbank flooding increased during the periods 9.9–9.1, ～8.0, 7.6–6.3, 5.0–3.4 kyr BP; during the intervals between these periods, Yellow River overbank decreased and paleosols developed. Human occupations, as indicated by the appearance of cultural layers at the SLK20 site during the ～8.1, ～7.8, 6.3–5.0 and 3.4–2.0 kyr BP periods, occurred when paleosol developed. The variation in East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) intensities caused a moist and warm mid-Holocene climate at the SLK20 site, which was conducive to human settlement. Flood events caused by EASM precipitation changes during the mid-Holocene significantly influenced human settlement at the SLK20 site. During the middle to late Holocene, as EASM decreased in the region, the improvement of subsistence strategies likely dominated human settlement on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau.
　　These findings were recently published in the Journal of Quaternary Science Reviews under the title of Single-grain K-feldspar pIRIR dating of the Shalongka archeological site revealed the relationship between monsoon, overbank flooding, and human occupation during the Holocene on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Dr. Wang Yixuan from Qinghai Institute of Salt Lake is the first author, Professor Li Guoqiang from Lanzhou University is the corresponding author, and Dr. Wang Xiaoyan of Lanzhou University is the co-corresponding author. Professor Hou Guangliang from Qinghai Normal University, Associate Professor Chen Chunzhu and Associate Professor Zhao Wenwei from Nantong University also participated in this research. This work was supported by Instrument and Equipment Function Development Technology Innovation Project of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant no. lz2023g103), Natural Science Foundation of Qinghai Province (Grant no. 2021-ZJ-981Q), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (lzujbky-2021-ey22), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 42071101).
　　 Link address for full text: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107848
　　
　　Fig. 1. Lithology, single-grain quartz OSL ages, K-feldspar pIRIR ages, and radiocarbon ages for samples from the SLK20 section.
　　Fig. 2. (a) and (b) are the χfd and mean grain size (μm) of samples from the SLK20 section, respectively. (c) is the χfd variation of the loess-paleosol section RYS17 from the NE Tibetan Plateau (TP) (Li et al., 2020b). (d) is the age probability density for eolian sediments on the NETP (Chen et al., 2020). (e) is pollen-based reconstruction of Holocene precipitation from Lake Gonghai in the central loess plateau (Chen et al., 2015b). (f) and (g) represent the Holocene summer temperature change reconstructed from alkenones from Lake Qinghai (Hou et al., 2016) and that reconstructed by a synthesis of TP pollen records (Chen et al., 2020), respectively. (h) is the probability density of glacial moraine ages on the TP (Chen et al., 2020). Gray vertical bands indicate cultural layering periods.
　　

2022-11-29

New progress has been made in the study of lithium deposits in salt lakes of Qaidam Basin

The Qarhan, East-Taijiner, West-Taijiner, and Yiliping salt lakes (so-called “Four Lakes Area”) in the Qaidam Basin have highly enriched lithium resources. The Qarhan, East-Taijiner, West-Taijiner, and Yiliping salt lakes (so-called “Four Lakes Area”) in the Qaidam Basin have highly enriched lithium resources. Although much work has been conducted to qualitatively understand the Li sources of these lithium-bearing brines, there is still a lack of quantitative assessment of the contribution of each Li-bearing end-member in the catchment. In addition, the key geochemical processes of dissolved lithium in the surface environment are also unclear until now. For these issues, systematic works were made in the area by the research team from the Laboratory of Geology and Environment of Salt Lakes, Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes, CAS. The recharge water and dissolved lithium contribution of various end-members in the “Four Lakes Area” of Qaidam Basin were quantitatively explained for the first time. The results show that the hot spring water, which accounts for only 3~5% of total recharge water volume, provides 84.9~93.4% of the total lithium resources in the Nalenggele River Basin. From the Gobi to the salt lake region, the dissolved lithium in the Nalenggele River underwent significant kinetic fractionation due to different reasons during migration, and the adsorption of clay and Fe/Mn oxides in the sediment and the isolation during salt deposition are likely to be the main constraints. Furthermore, the remote recharge mode of hot spring water in the upper reaches of the Nalenggele River should be the main reason for the high Mg/Li ratio of the Tail Salt Lakes. These findings provide important evidence and research ideas for the genesis mechanism of Li-rich salt lakes on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. These findings were recently published in the Journal of Hydrology (IF=6.708) under the title of Lithium and strontium isotopic systematics in the Nalenggele River catchment of Qaidam Basin, China: quantifying contributions to lithium brines and deciphering lithium behavior in hydrological processes. Dr. Miao Weiliang is the lead author and Dr. Zhang Xiying is the Co-corresponding author. This study is supported by the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research Program (STEP) (2019QZKK0805), the Western Light Foundation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant to WL Miao), the Natural Science Foundation of Qinghai Provincial Science and Technology Department (2020-ZJ-765), and the Youth Innovation Cross Team of Basic Research Program of Qinghai Institute of Salt lakes, CAS (ISLJCTD-2022-2).
　　Link address for full text: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.128630
　　Fig.1 End-member mixing model of Nalenggele River Basin in Qaidam Basin
　　

2022-11-12