This study investigated the characteristics of high-temperature lithium vapor-capturing reaction in a packed bed of calcined kaolin particles. The packed-bed sorption experiments were carried in the a temperature range of 700-900 degrees C. The high-temperature reaction between LiCl vapor and calcined kaolin sorbent generated lithium aluminum silicate (Li2O center dot Al2O3 center dot 2SiO(2)). An increase in kaolin bed temperature results in an increase in lithium-capturing rate, but it has no effect on the maximum lithium uptake. The resistance of LiCl vapor diffusion into the pores of calcined kaolin particles was negligible, and the chemical reaction at the kaolin surface controlled the overall sorption reaction rates by up to 60% of metakaolinite conversion. The order of the reaction between metakaolinite and LiCl vapor was determined as 1.94 and its activation energy was estimated as 7.95 kcal/mol according to the Arrhenius relationship. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.