Master's in Seawater Mining: Lithium, Magnesium and Dissolved Minerals
This master's prepares you to design and assess processes that recover dissolved minerals from seawater and desalination brines. You will study seawater chemistry, the recovery of magnesium, lithium, potassium, bromine and other elements, and membrane, adsorption and electrochemical technologies, and learn to judge the technical, economic and environmental viability of projects that in many cases are still at development stage.
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What is the Master's in Seawater Mining: Lithium, Magnesium and Dissolved Minerals?
This master's prepares you to design and assess processes that recover dissolved minerals from seawater and desalination brines. You will describe the composition, ionic equilibrium and behavior of brines, explain how salts, magnesium, bromine, potassium and lithium are obtained, evaluate membranes, adsorption, ion exchange, electrochemistry and crystallization, set out the mass and energy balances of a recovery plant, analyze the costs, energy, market and risks of a project, and apply environmental, regulatory and circular economy criteria.
What sets this master's apart: a process approach, from brine chemistry to the process flow diagram of a recovery plant; emerging technologies, covering selective adsorption, electrodialysis, membranes and direct lithium extraction, with a critical view of their maturity; the circular economy, integrating recovery with desalination plants to turn reject brine into a resource; real viability, with mass and energy balances, costs and risks for each option; and a Final Project in which you carry out a feasibility study to recover minerals from a specific source.
Program highlights
- Process approach: from brine chemistry to the process flow diagram of a recovery plant.
- Emerging technologies: selective adsorption, electrodialysis, membranes and direct lithium extraction, viewed critically.
- Circular economy: integration with desalination plants to turn reject brine into a resource.
- Real viability: mass and energy balances, costs and risks for each option.
- Beyond lithium: magnesium, bromine, potassium, boron and other elements of interest.
- Final Project: a feasibility study to recover minerals from a specific source.
Syllabus of the Master's in Seawater Mining: Lithium, Magnesium and Dissolved Minerals
11 modules. Select a module to see its content.
Dissolved Mineral Resources in the Ocean
- 1.1. The ocean as a mineral reservoir
- 1.2. Major and minor elements
- 1.3. Origin and cycle of dissolved elements
- 1.4. Seawater versus concentrated brines
- 1.5. Critical and strategic raw materials
- 1.6. History of extraction from seawater
- 1.7. Salt, magnesium and bromine: established industries
- 1.8. Lithium, uranium and trace elements: current challenges
- 1.9. Global demand for minerals
- 1.10. Map of players and projects
Chemistry of Seawater and Brines
- 2.1. Ionic composition of seawater
- 2.2. Salinity, density and ionic activity
- 2.3. Chemical equilibria in concentrated solutions
- 2.4. Solubility and saturation of salts
- 2.5. The carbonate system and scaling
- 2.6. Chemistry of desalination brines
- 2.7. Geothermal and salt flat brines
- 2.8. Chemical analysis of brines
- 2.9. Thermodynamic models of solutions
- 2.10. Chemical pretreatment of water
Sea Salts and Crystallization
- 3.1. Solar evaporation and saltworks
- 3.2. Salt precipitation sequence
- 3.3. Forced evaporation crystallization
- 3.4. Cooling crystallization
- 3.5. Crystallizer design
- 3.6. Product purity and quality
- 3.7. Salt for food and industry
- 3.8. Potassium sulphates and chlorides
- 3.9. Zero liquid discharge systems
- 3.10. Mother liquor management
Magnesium and Magnesium Compounds
- 4.1. Magnesium in seawater
- 4.2. Magnesium hydroxide precipitation
- 4.3. Producing magnesium oxide
- 4.4. Producing magnesium metal
- 4.5. Magnesium chloride and electrolysis
- 4.6. Industrial applications of magnesium
- 4.7. Product quality and specifications
- 4.8. Reagent and energy consumption
- 4.9. Integration with desalination plants
- 4.10. Market challenges for magnesium
Lithium: Sources, Technologies and Market
- 5.1. Lithium in the energy transition
- 5.2. Lithium sources: salt flats, hard rock and seawater
- 5.3. Lithium concentration and extraction challenges
- 5.4. Direct lithium extraction
- 5.5. Lithium-selective adsorbents
- 5.6. Ion exchange for lithium
- 5.7. Membranes and electrochemical processes for lithium
- 5.8. Purification and production of carbonate and hydroxide
- 5.9. Technology maturity and pilot projects
- 5.10. Lithium market and value chain
Other Elements of Interest
- 6.1. Bromine and its derivatives
- 6.2. Potassium and fertilizers
- 6.3. Boron and strontium
- 6.4. Calcium and gypsum
- 6.5. Rubidium and caesium
- 6.6. Uranium in seawater: state of research
- 6.7. Trace elements and valuable metals
- 6.8. Recovery of phosphorus and nutrients
- 6.9. Selectivity between similar elements
- 6.10. Prioritizing elements by viability
Membrane and Separation Technologies
- 7.1. Fundamentals of membrane processes
- 7.2. Reverse osmosis and nanofiltration
- 7.3. Ion-selective nanofiltration
- 7.4. Membrane distillation
- 7.5. Electrodialysis and bipolar electrodialysis
- 7.6. Ion exchange membranes
- 7.7. Fouling and scaling
- 7.8. Membrane train design
- 7.9. Energy consumption of separation
- 7.10. New membrane materials
Adsorption, Ion Exchange and Electrochemistry
- 8.1. Fundamentals of adsorption
- 8.2. Isotherms and kinetics
- 8.3. Adsorption column design
- 8.4. Ion exchange resins
- 8.5. Regeneration and service life
- 8.6. Capacitive deionisation
- 8.7. Brine electrolysis
- 8.8. Selective electrodes
- 8.9. Scaling up electrochemical processes
- 8.10. Technology comparison
Process Engineering and Economic Viability
- 9.1. Process flow diagrams
- 9.2. Mass and energy balances
- 9.3. Process simulation
- 9.4. Scaling up from laboratory to plant
- 9.5. Capital and operating costs
- 9.6. Energy and reagent prices
- 9.7. Product market analysis
- 9.8. Business models with desalination plants
- 9.9. Sensitivity and risk analysis
- 9.10. Technology readiness levels
Sustainability, Regulation and Circular Economy
- 10.1. Environmental impacts of extraction
- 10.2. Discharge of brines and effluents
- 10.3. Carbon and energy footprint
- 10.4. Life cycle assessment
- 10.5. Circular economy in desalination
- 10.6. International framework: UNCLOS and coastal waters
- 10.7. Environmental and discharge permits
- 10.8. Critical raw materials and industrial policy
- 10.9. Social acceptance and communication
- 10.10. Project sustainability indicators
Final Project
- 11.1. Choosing the source: seawater or brine
- 11.2. Chemical characterization of the source
- 11.3. Selecting the target products
- 11.4. Review of available technologies
- 11.5. Designing the process flow diagram
- 11.6. Mass and energy balances
- 11.7. Economic appraisal
- 11.8. Environmental and regulatory assessment
- 11.9. Writing the report
- 11.10. Presentation to an assessment panel
Duration and format of the Master's in Seawater Mining: Lithium, Magnesium and Dissolved Minerals
It is 1,500 hours. Tell us how many you can study each week and we will tell you when you will really finish.
This is the pace at which most students finish. It fits well with the installment plan.
Academic leadership and faculty
The Navalis teaching team: working professionals who teach and supervise the programs.
Dr. Marina AlcoverAcademic Director and Head of Quality Assurance
Eng. Diego CifuentesSenior Lecturer in Naval Welding and Non-Destructive Testing; Head of QA/QC for Welded Joints
Capt. Javier Abaroa (MCA)Senior Lecturer in Ship Handling, Electronic Navigation (ECDIS/Radar/ARPA) and GMDSS; STCW Compliance and Bridge Resource Management Coordinator
Dr. Pau FerrerSenior Lecturer in Naval Architecture and Simulation; Director of the Hydrodynamics and CFD Laboratory
Dr. Nuria LlobregatSenior Lecturer in Marine Meteorology, SAR and Operational Safety; Navigation Risk Management Coordinator
Eng. Javier BañulsSenior Lecturer in Electrical Engineering, Automation and ETO Engineering; Electronic Integration and Engine Alarms Coordinator
Eng. Sofía MarquinaSenior Lecturer in Materials, Composites and Corrosion Protection; Coordinator of the Advanced Paints and Coatings Line
Eng. Tomás RieraSenior Lecturer in Propulsion, Alternative Energy and Hybrid Systems; Energy Performance and Vibration CoordinatorObjectives of the Master's in Seawater Mining: Lithium, Magnesium and Dissolved Minerals
Career opportunities after the Master's in Seawater Mining: Lithium, Magnesium and Dissolved Minerals
Questions about the Master's in Seawater Mining: Lithium, Magnesium and Dissolved Minerals
It is an emerging field: the concentration of lithium in seawater is very low and most processes are at laboratory or pilot stage. The master's teaches you to assess their viability critically.
Because they concentrate dissolved minerals and are already pumped and treated, which can improve the viability of recovering them and turn a waste stream into a resource.
A grounding in general chemistry is recommended. The program reviews the solution chemistry concepts you need before moving on to separation technologies and process design.
No. It focuses on minerals dissolved in water; mining nodules and sulphides from the seabed is a different discipline.
You carry out a technical, economic and environmental feasibility study to recover one or more minerals from a specific source, with chemical characterization, process flow diagram, mass and energy balances and appraisal, presented before an assessment panel.
Reverse osmosis and nanofiltration, membrane distillation, electrodialysis, ion exchange, selective adsorption, capacitive deionisation, electrolysis and crystallization, compared by selectivity, energy use, maturity and cost.
The master's is taught online and comprises 1500 hours of study across 11 modules of about 136 hours each, ending with a Final Project in which you apply what you have learned to a complete recovery case.
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Admission process
No waiting for a call back. If your documents are in order, you can enroll in the same session.
- Profile: aimed at chemical, materials, industrial and mining engineers, chemists and environmental scientists, desalination plant staff, chemical and raw materials industry professionals, and consultants and researchers; professional experience in desalination, the chemical industry or mining is also a valid route.
- Language: sufficient command of English to follow the classes and the technical documentation.
- Technical resources: a computer with a stable internet connection, an up-to-date browser and a camera for live sessions and project presentations.
- Admission: online application, review of your profile and a short interview with the academic team.
- 01ApplicationYour details, background and documents.
- 02Instant reviewWe check that everything is complete and in order.
- 03EnrollmentChoose full payment or instalments and reserve your place.
Admission is provisional until the committee validates the documents provided. If you do not meet the requirements, the full amount is refunded.
Ask us before you enroll
Leave your details and admissions will write to you to answer any questions. If you are already sure, you can apply and pay in the same session.