@ShareStock2021I will have a read what you posted above later...

@ShareStock2021
I will have a read what you posted above later for sure.

In the meantime some reading I have done and my thoughts.

Looking at some of the websites and flowsheets around there are some gems

Like this one.
https://www.ibatterymetals.com/direct-lithium-extraction
LiCi on their high level "flowsheet" instead of LiCl ... Lol, maybe I'm being a dumbass but I can't find Ci on the periodic table
Plus we know it should be LiCl anyway.
Now Dr. J.Burba is CEO and I'm sure he would be horrified if he sees that website.
I can only guess that their DLE is some absorbent solution based on the work he did in the past for FMC.

Here he expands on the FMC site but he explains it poorly in my view.
https://www.innovationnewsnetwork.com/lithium/10672/
"Originally, there was no solar evaporation of brine feed in this process.
However, waste brine has always been pumped into a low area on the edge of the salar, where it evaporates.
Internally, the process uses evaporation ponds to increase lithium chloride concentration before it is transferred to the lithium carbonate operation or feed for the anhydrous LiCl plant. The plant draws water from local freshwater aquafers.
Much of the plant’s process water is recycled.

While there are those who will disagree due to the evaporation ponds, FMC’s plant is the first commercial Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) in the world because it literally removes lithium from the brine that exits the process."

OK... so originally there were no evaporation ponds, but now there are?
It is not clear if the "original" process has changed and if the current evaporation ponds are "pre" the DLE absorbent solution or referring to the concentration of the first LiCl product.
I think both. There is an upstream evaporation before "DLE" and then further downstream evaporation to concentrate the LiCl solution.

This mob manages to create matter out of thin air
They reckon you can extract 90% of lithium from the brine 200mg -> 20mg ... ok that is the standard claim.
But not extract any of the Mg, Ca, So4....
Ok where on earth did the Mg, Ca, So4 come from in the "Lithium concentrate" ?
Let's ignore how we got from 180mg/L li extracted to 2000mg/L concentrate.
https://www.jadecove.com/research/fromcatamarcatoqinghai


If we gloss over the above....

Curious that both this FMC process and the VUL process has a step where the initial LiCl product is further concentrated before processing to LCE I'm going on a limb here that this is unavoidable and every "DLE" operation is going to have to do this.

Believe this is representative flowsheet on VUL process.
Curiosly I see HCl synthesis at the bottom, probably used to strip the Lithuim from the sorbent.



Here is some more details on the steps part of DLE and downstream "treatment"
https://finfeed.com/features/explainer-overview-direct-lithium-extraction-dle-geothermal-brines/

These guys do concentration and downstream processing of the initial LiCl solution.
https://www.saltworkstech.com/applications/lithium-extraction-and-refining/
Note the hydrogen chloride input in the DLE process