Prospects of metal recovery from wastewater and brine

DuChanois, Ryan M.; Cooper, Nathanial J.; Lee, Boreum; Patel, Sohum K.; Mazurowski, Lauren; Graedel, T. E.; Elimelech, Menachem

doi:10.1038/s44221-022-00006-z

Cited by 94 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 73 publications

(95 reference statements)

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“…Membranes with highly precise selectivity between similar species could enable various separations of considerable water, energy, and environmental significance, such as nutrient recycling from wastewater, water softening, and reclamation of critical metals from brines or wastewaters. ,,, Applying a thin selective layer on an IEM is a common method used to produce selectivity between similar ions, including commercial monovalent-selective membranes and lab-scale membranes with ion-specific selectivity. − With this method, the mass transfer resistance of the IEM base layer is typically assumed to bear no effect on the selectivity of the composite membrane. Our work demonstrates otherwisethe resistance of the IEM can be performance-limiting under some circumstances.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1,2 Sustainable extraction of these critical elements could augment supplies of these minerals or offset carbon emissions associated with their traditional mining or production. 3 Of the separation approaches that are currently available for extracting such valuable metals and nutrients from water, electrodialysis (ED) is particularly attractive owing to its operational simplicity, energy efficiency, and low chemical requirements. 4−7 ED is a process that uses an electric field to transport ions from a diluate solution through ion-exchange membranes (IEMs, or self-supported membranes with ionized functional groups) and into a concentrate solution.…”

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Water is an indispensable resource, not only for the water itself but also the valuable resources it contains. Many naturally occurring brines and wastewaters hold elements that are critical for producing modern technologies (e.g., copper, lithium, and cobalt) or crop fertilizers (e.g., phosphorus and ammonia). , Sustainable extraction of these critical elements could augment supplies of these minerals or offset carbon emissions associated with their traditional mining or production . Of the separation approaches that are currently available for extracting such valuable metals and nutrients from water, electrodialysis (ED) is particularly attractive owing to its operational simplicity, energy efficiency, and low chemical requirements. − …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Precise Cation Separations with Composite Cation-Exchange Membranes: Role of Base Layer Properties

DuChanois

Mazurowski

Fan

et al. 2023

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Separation of specific ions from water could enable recovery and reuse of essential metals and nutrients, but established membrane technologies lack the high-precision selectivity needed to facilitate a circular resource economy. In this work, we investigate whether the cation/ cation selectivity of a composite cation-exchange membrane (CEM), or a thin polymer selective layer on top of a CEM, may be limited by the mass transfer resistance of the underlying CEM. In our analysis, we utilize a layer-by-layer technique to modify CEMs with a thin polymer selective layer (∼50 nm) that has previously shown high selectivity toward copper over similarly sized metals. While these composite membranes have a CuCl 2 /MgCl 2 selectivity up to 33 times larger than unmodified CEMs in diffusion dialysis, our estimates suggest that eliminating resistance from the underlying CEM could further increase selectivity twofold. In contrast, the CEM base layer has a smaller effect on the selectivity of these composite membranes in electrodialysis, although these effects could become more pronounced for ultrathin or highly conductive selective layers. Our results highlight that base layer resistance prevents selectivity factors from being comparable across diffusion dialysis and electrodialysis, and CEMs with low resistance are necessary for providing highly precise separations with composite CEMs.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Precise Cation Separations with Composite Cation-Exchange Membranes: Role of Base Layer Properties

DuChanois

Mazurowski

Fan

et al. 2023

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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“…Wastewater and brine from BSGW treatment contain metals that may be recovered as a resource (DuChanois et al. 2023). Wastewater treatment technology has significantly advanced.…”

Section: What About the Wastewater And Brine From Treating Brackish A...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Brackish and Saline Groundwater Use—Is It Time to Reconsider USDW?

Job¹

2023

Groundwater Monitoring Rem

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“…At the same time research has continued to advance on separation and recovery techniques of valuable minerals from RO brines. [1][2][3] Islands, due to their particular contextual characteristics, such as scale, isolation and limited natural resources, have been pioneers in the implementation of desalination technologies and are poised to benefit from further valorization of RO brines, not only due to the intrinsic economic value but also because of the avoided (environmental) costs of brine discharging. The case of a desalination plant in the island of Aruba is further analyzed in this perspective as it forms a good example of the possibilities for brine reuse even from the perspective of an 'isolated' market.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perspective in resource recovery from reverse osmosis brines: the case for sustainable seawater refineries for small islands

Acevedo,

Mijts,

John

et al. 2023

J of Chemical Tech & Biotech

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Reverse osmosis has become the dominant technique for desalination while at the same time there is a steady increase in reliance on desalination systems for water production globally. Resource recovery and mitigation of adverse effects from brine discharge are important factors and are increasingly being considered by researchers and industrial actors. The island nation of Aruba, with over 100 years of commercial desalination history, is used as a case study to illustrate the possibilities of shifting from centralized seawater desalination plants to seawater refineries in which freshwater is considered only one of the possible products. We identify possible economic value from desalination plants of medium scale (as is the case in Aruba) from the production of magnesium, caustic soda, chlorine‐based products and rubidium and possible energy recovery possibilities through osmotic gradients and/or hydrogen storage while at the same time highlighting the insufficient potential for lithium harvesting from seawater desalination brines. We have found that the economic value from resources recovered from brine may be even larger than the value of the freshwater produced by these plants. Furthermore, reduction of salinity and quantity of brine can reduce the overall ecological impact from current brine effluents. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).

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Prospects of metal recovery from wastewater and brine

Cited by 94 publications

References 73 publications

Precise Cation Separations with Composite Cation-Exchange Membranes: Role of Base Layer Properties

Precise Cation Separations with Composite Cation-Exchange Membranes: Role of Base Layer Properties

Brackish and Saline Groundwater Use—Is It Time to Reconsider USDW?

Perspective in resource recovery from reverse osmosis brines: the case for sustainable seawater refineries for small islands

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