A US company specializing in advanced water and resource recovery has announced the launch of the world’s first fully integrated lithium facility that extracts the metal from oilfield produced water.

IntroductionWhen a small piece of sodium is placed in a petri dish with water and phenolphthalein, the sodium becomes a molten ball and darts around the dish, leaving a pink trail. The reactions of ...

Alkali metals can react explosively with water and it is textbook knowledge that this vigorous behaviour results from heat release, steam formation and ignition of the hydrogen gas that is produced.

READY FOR ITS CLOSE-UP High-speed images taken just before an alkali metal explodes in water (left column) show spikes forming on the metal’s surface 0.35 milliseconds after it hits the surface.