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Get the most interesting and important stories from the 51精品视频.Most batteries used in technology like smart watches and electric cars are made with lithium that travels across the world before even getting to manufacturers. But what if nearly half of the lithium used in the U.S. could come from Pennsylvania wastewater?听
A new analysis using compliance data from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection suggests that if it could be extracted with complete efficiency, lithium from the wastewater of Marcellus shale gas wells could supply up to 40% of the country鈥檚 demand.
Already, researchers in the lab can extract lithium from water with more than 90% efficiency according to a researcher at the National Energy Technology Laboratory and PhD student in the lab of , associate professor of geology and environmental sciences in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences.
The US Geological Survey lists lithium as a , (although, as Mackey was quick to point out, lithium is an element, not a mineral). The designation means the U.S. government wants all lithium to be produced domestically by 2030, and so the search for sources has intensified. Currently, much of it is extracted from brine ponds in Chile. Then it鈥檚 shipped to China, where it鈥檚 processed.
There are lithium mining operations in the U.S., but, Mackey said, 鈥淭his is different. This is a waste stream and we鈥檙e looking at a beneficial use of that waste.鈥
Finding lithium in the wastewater in Marcellus shale wasn鈥檛 a surprise: Researchers had analyzed the water recycled in hydraulic fracking and knew that it picked up minerals and elements from the shale. 鈥淏ut there hadn鈥檛 been enough measurements to quantify the resource,鈥 Mackey said. We just didn鈥檛 know how much was in there.鈥
Thanks to Pennsylvania regulatory requirements, the research team was able to figure it out. .
Companies are required to submit analyses of wastewater used in each well pad, and lithium is one of the substances they have to report, Mackie said. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 how we were able to conduct this regional analysis.鈥
Meeting 30% to 40% of the country鈥檚 lithium needs would bring the country much closer to the 2030 requirements. But there鈥檚 lithium-rich wastewater outside of the state鈥檚 boundaries, too. 鈥淧ennsylvania has the most robust data source for Marcellus shale,鈥 Mackey said, 鈥淏ut there鈥檚 lots of activity in West Virginia, too.鈥
The next step toward making use of this lithium is to understand the environmental impact of extracting it and to implement a pilot facility to develop extraction techniques.
鈥淲astewater from oil and gas is a burgeoning issue,鈥 Mackey said. 鈥淩ight now, it鈥檚 just minimally treated and reinjected.鈥 But it has to potential to provide a lot of value. After all, he said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 been dissolving rocks for hundreds of millions of years 鈥 essentially, the water has been mining the subsurface.鈥
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Photography by Aimee Obidzinski
This work was performed in support of the U.S. Department of Energy鈥檚 Fossil Energy and Carbon Management and executed through the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) Research and Innovation Center鈥檚 Critical Minerals field work proposal.