" Rival Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N) has struggled to produce lithium from the same area given large concentrations of silica in the brine that can form glass when cooled, clogging pipes.
Colwell said a $65 million facility recently installed by Controlled Thermal can remove that silica and other unwanted metals. DLE equipment licensed from Koch Industries would then remove the lithium."
Sodium silicate also known as water glass is a possible problem. Adding acid to reduce pH would cause silica to precipitate.
Many companies are working on DLE technology but so far none has a commercial scale plant. But less environmental waste/impact is a driver for DLE adoption especially in the US.