Mine Water Use, Treatment, and Reuse in the United States: A Look at Current Industry Practices and Select Case Studies

Miller, Kaleisha D.; Bentley, Matthew J.; Ryan, Joseph N.; Linden, Karl G.; Larrison, Caleb; Kienzle, Benjamin A.; Katz, Lynn E.; Wilson, Alana M.; Cox, Jordan T.; Kurup, Parthiv; Van Allsburg, Kurt M.; McCall, James; Macknick, Jordan E.; Talmadge, Michael S.; Miara, Ariel; Sitterley, Kurban A.; Evans, Anna; Thirumaran, Kiran; Malhotra, Mini; Garcia Gonzalez, Susana; Stokes Draut, Jennifer R.; Chellam, Shankararaman

doi:10.1021/acsestengg.1c00244

Mine Water Use, Treatment, and Reuse in the United States: A Look at Current Industry Practices and Select Case Studies

Journal Article · Wed Oct 20 00:00:00 EDT 2021 · ACS ES&T Engineering

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestengg.1c00244· OSTI ID:1834735

Miller, Kaleisha D. ^[1]; Bentley, Matthew J. ^[2]; Ryan, Joseph N. ^[2]; Linden, Karl G. ^[2]; Larrison, Caleb ^[2]; Kienzle, Benjamin A. ^[3]; Katz, Lynn E. ^[3]; ^[4]; Cox, Jordan T. ^[4]; Kurup, Parthiv ^[4]; ^[4]; ^[4]; ^[4]; Talmadge, Michael S. ^[4]; Miara, Ariel ^[4]; Sitterley, Kurban A. ^[4]; Evans, Anna ^[5]; Thirumaran, Kiran ^[6]; Malhotra, Mini ^[6]; Garcia Gonzalez, Susana ^[6] more »

Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States)
Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)
Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States)
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States)
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Mining provides significant economic value while often impacting local water supplies and environments because of freshwater usage and waste disposal practices. In this paper we identify current practices in mine water, including how water is used in mining, influent and effluent water quality, treatment technologies, and end uses with the goal of informing future research on implementable, reliable, and cost-effective advanced water treatment in the mining sector. This study also reviews the available literature to broadly evaluate mining in the United States and performs a techno-economic assessment on water use and disposal for three detailed case studies applicable to lithium, uranium, and copper mines. These case studies highlight specific industry examples of distinct extraction methods, geographical regions, and mined commodities. Hypothetical scenarios based on case study baselines revealed potential impacts to mine water available for beneficial reuse through the use of novel water treatment technologies and alternate water management strategies. Finally, an assessment of national level impacts resulting from the reuse of treated mine source water is presented.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE; USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Energy Efficiency Office. Advanced Manufacturing Office

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231; AC05-00OR22725; AC36-08GO28308

OSTI ID:: 1834735

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1885378

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA-5400-80264; MainId:42467; UUID:577f4abf-d29a-417b-bad8-0706533f0d7c; MainAdminID:63412

Journal Information:: ACS ES&T Engineering, Journal Name: ACS ES&T Engineering Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 2; ISSN 2690-0645

Publisher:: American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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