Lithium recovery from brine using a λ-MnO2/activated carbon hybrid supercapacitor system.

Lithium is one of the most important elements in various fields including energy storage, medicine manufacturing and the glass industry, and demands for lithium are constantly increasing these days. The lime soda evaporation process using brine lake water is the major extraction method for lithium, but this process is not only inefficient and time-consuming but also causes a few environmental problems. Electrochemical recovery processes of lithium ions have been proposed recently, but the better idea for the silver negative electrodes used in these systems is required to reduce its cost or increase long term stability. Here, we report an electrochemical lithium recovery method based on a λ-MnO2/activated carbon hybrid supercapacitor system. In this system, lithium ions and counter anions are effectively captured at each electrode with low energy consumption in a salt solution containing various cationic species or simulated Salar de Atacama brine lake water in Chile. Furthermore, we designed this system as a flow process for practical applications. By experimental analyses, we confirmed that this system has high selectivity and long-term stability, with its performance being retained even after repetitive captures and releases of lithium ions.

Attitudes toward Olfaction: A Cross-regional Study.

This study aimed to determine whether there are regional influences on attitudes toward olfaction. A total of 1082 participants aged 21-50 years from 4 different regions (Mexican, Korean, Czech, and German) were asked to rate general attitudes toward olfaction in everyday life. To examine affective attitudes to odors (i.e., pleasantness), participants were also asked to list 3 odors as being the most pleasant or unpleasant, respectively. Next, the mentioned odor names were attributed to 1 of 4 main categories: "Food & Drink," "Social relationship," "Nature," and "Civilization" and the distribution of these categories was compared across regions. Mexicans were significantly different to the other regions in their general attitudes toward olfaction. In addition, in all regions, in comparison with men, women indicated a higher interest in the sense of smell. Moreover, a significant positive correlation was present between individuals' self-rating of olfactory sensitivity and general attitudes toward olfaction. Finally, there were significant cross-regional differences in affective attitudes toward specific categories of odors. In conclusion, our findings support and extend the notion that regions affect attitudes toward the olfactory world.