- Title Information
- Title
- Geochemical, Paleoclimate, and Thermodynamic Insights into Lithium Enrichment and Extraction in Western U.S. Volcano-Sedimentary Deposits
- Type of Resource (primo)
- dissertations
- Name:
Personal
- Name Part
- Gagnon, Catherine Anne
- Role
- Role Term:
Text
- creator
- Name:
Personal
- Name Part
- Ibarra, Daniel
- Role
- Role Term:
Text
- Advisor
- Name:
Personal
- Name Part
- Russell, James
- Role
- Role Term:
Text
- Reader
- Name:
Personal
- Name Part
- Hirth, Greg
- Role
- Role Term:
Text
- Reader
- Name:
Personal
- Name Part
- Dalton, Colleen
- Role
- Role Term:
Text
- Reader
- Name:
Personal
- Name Part
- Whittaker, Michael
- Role
- Role Term:
Text
- Reader
- Name:
Corporate
- Name Part
- Brown University. Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences
- Role
- Role Term:
Text
- sponsor
- Origin Information
- Copyright Date
- 2026
- Physical Description
- Extent
- xvi, 164 p.
- digitalOrigin
- born digital
- Note:
thesis
- Thesis (Ph. D.)--Brown University, 2026
- Genre (aat)
- theses
- Abstract
- Lithium-bearing clay deposits represent a large yet poorly constrained resource for meeting growing global demand for lithium used in energy storage technologies. In contrast to pegmatite and brine deposits, lithium in clay-rich volcano-sedimentary systems is structurally bound within smectite and illite, leading to variable enrichment mechanisms and extraction behavior. This dissertation investigates the geochemical, paleoclimatic, and thermodynamic controls on lithium enrichment and release in western United States volcano-sedimentary deposits, focusing on the Barstow Formation, Clayton Valley, and the McDermitt Caldera. This work integrates field-based stratigraphic analysis with laboratory characterization of lithium-bearing claystones using X-ray diffraction, bulk geochemistry, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy, and stable isotope geochemistry. Oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, carbonate clumped, and newly established triple oxygen isotope analyses are used to constrain fluid sources, alteration pathways, and paleoclimatic conditions associated with lithium enrichment. Isothermal titration calorimetry experiments quantify the thermodynamics of acid–clay interactions, providing constraints on reaction enthalpy, entropy, and binding behavior during proton-driven exchange and dissolution. Results demonstrate that lithium enrichment is controlled by interactions among volcanic source material, basin hydrology, climate, and hydrothermal fluids, with the relative importance of each factor varying by basin. Thermodynamic measurements show that lithium release during acid leaching is partly governed by stoichiometric proton exchange on clay surfaces, with reaction energetics dependent on mineralogy and acid chemistry. Together, these findings emphasize the need for deposit-specific characterization and thermodynamic constraints to optimize lithium extraction strategies. This dissertation links geologic formation processes with extraction behavior, providing insights relevant to both lithium clay genesis and the development of more efficient and sustainable recovery methods.
- Subject (fast)
(authorityURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast", valueURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast/00863854")
- Topic
- Clay minerals
- Subject (fast)
(authorityURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast", valueURI="http://id.worldcat.org/fast/01000241")
- Topic
- Lithium silicates
- Subject
- Topic
- isotope geochemistry
- Subject
- Topic
- paleoclimate
- Language
- Language Term (ISO639-2B)
- English
- Record Information
- Record Content Source (marcorg)
- RPB
- Record Creation Date
(encoding="iso8601")
- 20260427