Study on modes of occurrence and selective leaching of lithium in coal gangue via grinding-thermal activation

[Display omitted] •Lithium occurs in the octahedron of the kaolinite lattice via charge compensation.•Thermal activation in nitrogen atmosphere is more favorable to lithium extraction.•44.82 % of lithium was selectively leached out with almost undissolved aluminum.•Lithium in the octahedron moves outside by thermal activation, facilitating exchange. Lithium (Li), an important strategic metal, has been paid attention to by researchers, entrepreneurs, and political circles, especially its recovery from coal-based solid waste. In this paper, the occurrence modes of Li in coal gangue (CG) have been studied through sequential chemical extraction, distribution correlation, and intercalation-leaching test. The CG was pretreated via grinding-thermal activation to selectively leach Li. The correlation between Li and magnesium (Mg) during the leaching process was also investigated. Finally, the migration mechanism of Li during the grinding-thermal activation process was analyzed using solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance for the first time. The results of the first three experiments demonstrated that Li primarily exists within the kaolinite. The extraction of Li from CG after grinding-thermal activation is 44.82 % using 0.2 M (NH4)2SO4 (pH = 4.0), while aluminum (Al) was almost insoluble, exhibiting the selective leaching of Li. 84.76 % of Li and 17.63 % of Al are obtained at pH = 1.0. The correlation analysis result suggests that lithium ions (Li+) exist in the octahedron of the lattice as charge compensation. The migration mechanism is explained by the chemical shift of Li+, which moves from −0.196 ppm (raw, in the octahedron) to −0.319 ppm (ground, octahedral destruction) and further to −0.564 ppm (thermal activation, out of the octahedron). This paper can provide a theoretical basis for the occurrence of Li and a new method for selective extraction of Li from CG.