Over the last two decades, demand for lithium has skyrocketed. Despite this, the process for its extraction has remained fundamentally unchanged since the 1950s. My Fulbright project aims to bridge that gap by determining the effectiveness of recently explored processes on Australian mineral samples and analyzing their possibilities for implementation.
Liam McDonough completed his undergraduate studies at The University of California, Berkeley in chemical engineering. He completed his undergraduate studies at The University of California, Berkeley in chemical engineering. Previously, he worked on the development of electrochemical mineral extraction at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and studied battery degradation using scanning electrochemical microscopy at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
For his Fulbright project, Liam is working on studying the application of emerging lithium extraction and purification techniques to Australian clays. In his free time, Liam enjoys hiking, cooking, and board games. After Fulbright, Liam hopes to pursue a PhD in chemical engineering.