PNNL, Moselle to advance using magnetic nanoparticles to capture lithium, cesium from brines
by Mike Millikin
The DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and its licensee Moselle Technologies, have won two Cooperative Research and Development Awards (CRADA) and a 2021 DOE Advanced Manufacturing Office award to advance the process of using magnetic nanoparticles for capturing strategically important elements from water sources.
The patent-pending technology, developed at PNNL, has been licensed exclusively by Moselle Technologies, a start-up business that is piloting the technology in several US and international locations.
The core nanoparticle consists of a form of iron oxide better known as magnetite. This core particle is used to anchor the adsorbent shell that selectively binds the compounds of interest the key to the patented technology.