EventsThe 5th International Electronic Conference on Processes
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This submission belongs to the session S2. Chemical Processes and Systems of the event The 5th International Electronic Conference on Processes
Published date
15 Oct, 2026
Academic Editor
author-avatarBlaž Likozar
Citation
Chiara Abate, Alessandro Sinopoli, Ahmed Abotaleb, Ottavia Giuffrè, Claudia Foti, Recycle Of Spent Halloysite-based Catalysts For Lithium Removal from aqueous solutions, in Proceedings of The 5th International Electronic Conference on Processes, 20 October–22 October 2026, MDPI: Basel, Switzerland
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Recycle Of Spent Halloysite-based Catalysts For Lithium Removal from aqueous solutions

Chiara Abate 1
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Alessandro Sinopoli 1
Ahmed Abotaleb 2
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Ottavia Giuffrè 1
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Claudia Foti 1
1. University of Messina, Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, Viale F. Stagno d’Alcontres 31, 98166, Messina, Italy
2. Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, P.O. Box 34110, Doha, Qatar
Abstract

In line with the principles of sustainability and the circular economy, this study proposes the recycling of waste materials, i.e., nickel-halloysite (Ni-HNT) based catalysts, previously developed and used for dry reforming of methane (DRM) [1], for lithium (Li+) removal from aqueous solutions. To achieve this goal, it was essential to develop a suitable analytical method for Li+ detection. Therefore, starting from an electrochemical method reported in the literature [2], voltammetry with screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPCEs) proved to be a user-friendly technique. The SPCEs were functionalized –by drop-casting- with different aliquots taken from an N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) dispersion, composed of lithium manganese oxide (LiMn2O4, LMO), Nafion and MultiWalled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNT). The LMO-modified SPCEs were electrochemically characterized by Cyclic Voltammetry (CV), and the key analytical parameters were determined by Linear Sweep Voltammetry (LSV). For example, the linear concentration range was found to be: 1.5 ≤ [Li+]/ ppm ≤ 150.

The adsorption capacity (qe (mg/g)) and removal efficiency (R%), along with the equilibrium time between a particular adsorbent material and lithium, were then studied reaching equilibrium in 200 minutes with Pseudo-First-Order (PFO) kinetics and qe (mg/g) ⁓ 20. Finally, its isothermal models, namely the Langmuir Model (LM) and Freundlich Model (FM), were analyzed along with its recovery performance. Initial results show a recovery rate of up to 60%.

Overall, these results support the practical application of the approach, with material recycling offering economic and environmental benefits.

References

[1] A. Abotaleb, D. Al-Masri, A. Alkhateb, K. Mroue, A. Zekri, Y. Mashhour, A. Sinopoli, Assessing the effect of acid and alkali treatment on a halloysite-based catalyst for dry reforming of methane, RSC Adv. 14 (2024) 4788-4803.
[2] H. Fu, W. Zhu, W. Xu, Z. Zhao, Understanding ion intercalation of LiMn2O4 in brine for electrochemical detection of Li+, J. Electroanal. Chem. 983 (2025), 119033.

Keywords
circular economy
lithium
recycling
spent catalysts
voltammetry
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