<P> Lithium salts have to be extracted from the water of mineral springs, brine pools, and brine deposits . The metal is produced electrolytically from a mixture of fused lithium chloride and potassium chloride . </P> <P> Sodium occurs mostly in seawater and dried seabed, but is now produced through electrolysis of sodium chloride by lowering the melting point of the substance to below 700 ° C through the use of a Downs cell . Extremely pure sodium can be produced through the thermal decomposition of sodium azide . Potassium occurs in many minerals, such as sylvite (potassium chloride). Previously, potassium was generally made from the electrolysis of potassium chloride or potassium hydroxide, found extensively in places such as Canada, Russia, Belarus, Germany, Israel, United States, and Jordan, in a method similar to how sodium was produced in the late 1800s and early 1900s . It can also be produced from seawater . However, these methods are problematic because the potassium metal tends to dissolve in its molten chloride and vaporises significantly at the operating temperatures, potentially forming the explosive superoxide . As a result, pure potassium metal is now produced by reducing molten potassium chloride with sodium metal at 850 ° C . </P> <Dl> <Dd> Na (g) + KCl (l) ⇌ NaCl (l) + K (g) </Dd> </Dl> <Dd> Na (g) + KCl (l) ⇌ NaCl (l) + K (g) </Dd>

What oxidation states can the alkali metals exhibit