Critical mineral source potential from oil & gas produced waters in the United States

Smith, Kathryn H.; Mackey, Justin E.; Wenzlick, Madison; Thomas, Burt; Siefert, Nicholas S.

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172573

Title: Critical mineral source potential from oil & gas produced waters in the United States

Journal Article · 18 April 2024 · Science of the Total Environment

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172573 · OSTI ID:2386956

Smith, Kathryn H. ^[1]; Mackey, Justin E. ^[2]; Wenzlick, Madison ^[3]; Thomas, Burt ^[3]; Siefert, Nicholas S. ^[2]

National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA (United States); Carbon Capture Scientific, Pittsburgh, PA (United States)
National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA (United States)
National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Albany, OR (United States)

The volume of produced water, a by-product of oil & gas operations and other energy processes, has been growing across the United States (U.S.) along with the need to manage or recycle this wastewater. Produced water contains many naturally occurring elements of varying concentrations, including critical minerals which are essential to the clean energy transition. However, the current understanding of critical mineral concentrations in produced water and the associated volumes across the U.S. is limited. This study has assessed available databases and literature to gain insight into the presence and concentration of five high priority critical minerals, namely cobalt, lithium, magnesium, manganese, and nickel. The U.S. Geological Survey's National Produced Waters Geochemical Database was the main data source used for determining average critical mineral concentrations in produced water from the major oil and gas reservoirs in the U.S. The volumes of produced water for these major reservoirs were coupled with these concentrations to provide insights into where critical minerals are likely to have high abundance and therefore more recovery options. The analysis indicated the highest recovery potential for lithium and magnesium from produced water in the Permian basin and the Marcellus shale region. However, these assessments should be considered conservative due to the limited availability of reliable concentration data. Finally, it is expected more critical mineral recovery options could emerge with comprehensive characterization data from more recent and representative sources of produced water.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Cite

Export

Save

Research Organization:: National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, Morgantown, WV, and Albany, OR (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM), Office of Carbon Management

OSTI ID:: 2386956

Journal Information:: Science of the Total Environment, Journal Name: Science of the Total Environment Vol. 929; ISSN 0048-9697

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (62)

Reductive weathering of black shale and release of barium during hydraulic fracturing Renock, Devon; Landis, Joshua D.; Sharma, Mukul Applied Geochemistry, Vol. 65 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2015.11.001	journal	February 2016
Experimental insights into geochemical changes in hydraulically fractured Marcellus Shale Marcon, Virginia; Joseph, Craig; Carter, Kimberly E. Applied Geochemistry, Vol. 76 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2016.11.005	journal	January 2017
Microbially mediated barite dissolution in anoxic brines Ouyang, Bingjie; Akob, Denise M.; Dunlap, Darren Applied Geochemistry, Vol. 76 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2016.11.008	journal	January 2017
Lithium recovery from hydraulic fracturing flowback and produced water using a selective ion exchange sorbent Seip, Adam; Safari, Salman; Pickup, David M. Chemical Engineering Journal, Vol. 426 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2021.130713	journal	December 2021
Factors controlling Li concentration and isotopic composition in formation waters and host rocks of Marcellus Shale, Appalachian Basin Phan, Thai T.; Capo, Rosemary C.; Stewart, Brian W. Chemical Geology, Vol. 420 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2015.11.003	journal	January 2016
Geochemistry of formation waters from the Wolfcamp and “Cline” shales: Insights into brine origin, reservoir connectivity, and fluid flow in the Permian Basin, USA Engle, Mark A.; Reyes, Francisco R.; Varonka, Matthew S. Chemical Geology, Vol. 425 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2016.01.025	journal	May 2016
Volatile-organic molecular characterization of shale-oil produced water from the Permian Basin Khan, Naima A.; Engle, Mark; Dungan, Barry Chemosphere, Vol. 148 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2015.12.116	journal	April 2016
Treating produced water from hydraulic fracturing: Composition effects on scale formation and desalination system selection Thiel, Gregory P.; Lienhard, John H. Desalination, Vol. 346 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2014.05.001	journal	August 2014
Techno-economic analysis of converting oil & gas produced water into valuable resources Wenzlick, Madison; Siefert, Nicholas Desalination, Vol. 481 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2020.114381	journal	May 2020
Produced water desalination using high temperature membranes Chen, Cheng; Huang, Xiaofei; Prakash, Prakhar Desalination, Vol. 513 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2021.115144	journal	October 2021
Datasets associated with investigating the potential for beneficial reuse of produced water from oil and gas extraction outside of the energy sector Scanlon, Bridget R.; Reedy, Robert C.; Xu, Pei Data in Brief, Vol. 30 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2020.105406	journal	June 2020
Datasets associated with the characterization of produced water and Pecos River water in the Permian Basin, the United States Jiang, Wenbin; Xu, Xuesong; Hall, Ryan Data in Brief, Vol. 43 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2022.108443	journal	August 2022
An integrative method for identification and prioritization of constituents of concern in produced water from onshore oil and gas extraction Danforth, Cloelle; Chiu, Weihsueh A.; Rusyn, Ivan Environment International, Vol. 134 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2019.105280	journal	January 2020
Adsorption of rare earth ions from synthetic seawater and hot spring water using phosphorylated yeast Kihara, Maya; Ojima, Yoshihiro; Azuma, Masayuki Environmental Technology & Innovation, Vol. 30 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eti.2023.103093	journal	May 2023
Characterization of Marcellus Shale and Huntersville Chert before and after exposure to hydraulic fracturing fluid via feature relocation using field-emission scanning electron microscopy Dieterich, Matthew; Kutchko, Barbara; Goodman, Angela Fuel, Vol. 182 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2016.05.061	journal	October 2016
Linking compositional data analysis with thermodynamic geochemical modeling: Oilfield brines from the Permian Basin, USA Engle, Mark A.; Blondes, Madalyn S. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, Vol. 141 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gexplo.2014.02.025	journal	June 2014
Controls on lithium content of oilfield waters in Texas and neighboring states (USA) Darvari, Roxana; Nicot, Jean-Philippe; Scanlon, Bridget R. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, Vol. 257 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gexplo.2023.107363	journal	February 2024
Physical-chemical evaluation of hydraulic fracturing chemicals in the context of produced water treatment Camarillo, Mary Kay; Domen, Jeremy K.; Stringfellow, William T. Journal of Environmental Management, Vol. 183 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.08.065	journal	December 2016
Rhamnolipid biosurfactant complexation of rare earth elements Hogan, David E.; Curry, Joan E.; Pemberton, Jeanne E. Journal of Hazardous Materials, Vol. 340 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2017.06.056	journal	October 2017
Characterization of produced water and surrounding surface water in the Permian Basin, the United States Jiang, Wenbin; Xu, Xuesong; Hall, Ryan Journal of Hazardous Materials, Vol. 430 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.128409	journal	May 2022
Spatial and temporal variation in toxicity and inorganic composition of hydraulic fracturing flowback and produced water Stewart, Connor B.; Lowes, Hannah M.; Mehler, W. Tyler Journal of Hazardous Materials, Vol. 460 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.132490	journal	October 2023
A review of membrane crystallization, forward osmosis and membrane capacitive deionization for liquid mining Ali, Aamer; Quist-Jensen, Cejna Anna; Jørgensen, Mads Koustrup Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Vol. 168 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.105273	journal	May 2021
Temporal characterization of flowback and produced water quality from a hydraulically fractured oil and gas well Rosenblum, James; Nelson, Andrew W.; Ruyle, Bridger Science of The Total Environment, Vol. 596-597 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.03.294	journal	October 2017
Temporal characterization and statistical analysis of flowback and produced waters and their potential for reuse Oetjen, Karl; Chan, Kevin E.; Gulmark, Kristoffer Science of The Total Environment, Vol. 619-620 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.11.078	journal	April 2018
Characterizing variable biogeochemical changes during the treatment of produced oilfield waste Hildenbrand, Zacariah L.; Santos, Inês C.; Liden, Tiffany Science of The Total Environment, Vol. 634 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.03.388	journal	September 2018
Application of isotopic and geochemical signals in unconventional oil and gas reservoir produced waters toward characterizing in situ geochemical fluid-shale reactions Phan, Thai T.; Hakala, J. Alexandra; Sharma, Shikha Science of The Total Environment, Vol. 714 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.136867	journal	April 2020
Can we beneficially reuse produced water from oil and gas extraction in the U.S.? Scanlon, Bridget R.; Reedy, Robert C.; Xu, Pei Science of The Total Environment, Vol. 717 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137085	journal	May 2020
Characterization and treatment of Bakken oilfield produced water as a potential source of value-added elements Xiao, Feng Science of The Total Environment, Vol. 770 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145283	journal	May 2021
Emerging analytical methods for the characterization and quantification of organic contaminants in flowback and produced water Oetjen, Karl; Giddings, Cloelle G. S.; McLaughlin, Molly Trends in Environmental Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 15 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.teac.2017.07.002	journal	July 2017
Chemical and toxicological characterizations of hydraulic fracturing flowback and produced water He, Yuhe; Flynn, Shannon L.; Folkerts, Erik J. Water Research, Vol. 114 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2017.02.027	journal	May 2017
Geochemical and microbial characterizations of flowback and produced water in three shale oil and gas plays in the central and western United States Wang, Huan; Lu, Lu; Chen, Xi Water Research, Vol. 164 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2019.114942	journal	November 2019
Utica Shale Play Oil and Gas Brines: Geochemistry and Factors Influencing Wastewater Management Blondes, Madalyn S.; Shelton, Jenna L.; Engle, Mark A. Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 54, Issue 21 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c02461	journal	October 2020
Unraveling the Complex Composition of Produced Water by Specialized Extraction Methodologies Emmons, Ronald V.; Shyam Sunder, Govind Sharma; Liden, Tiffany Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 56, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c05826	journal	January 2022
Mining Critical Metals and Elements from Seawater: Opportunities and Challenges Diallo, Mamadou S.; Kotte, Madhusudhana Rao; Cho, Manki Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 49, Issue 16 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b00463	journal	April 2015
Fate of Radium in Marcellus Shale Flowback Water Impoundments and Assessment of Associated Health Risks Zhang, Tieyuan; Hammack, Richard W.; Vidic, Radisav D. Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 49, Issue 15 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b01393	journal	July 2015
Water Issues Related to Transitioning from Conventional to Unconventional Oil Production in the Permian Basin Scanlon, Bridget R.; Reedy, Robert C.; Male, Frank Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 51, Issue 18 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.7b02185	journal	September 2017
Will Water Issues Constrain Oil and Gas Production in the United States? Scanlon, Bridget R.; Ikonnikova, Svetlana; Yang, Qian Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 54, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b06390	journal	February 2020
Lithium Recovery from Oil and Gas Produced Water: A Need for a Growing Energy Industry Kumar, Amit; Fukuda, Hiroki; Hatton, T. Alan ACS Energy Letters, Vol. 4, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1021/acsenergylett.9b00779	journal	May 2019
Oil and Gas Produced Water Reuse: Opportunities, Treatment Needs, and Challenges Cooper, Carolyn M.; McCall, James; Stokes, Sean C. ACS ES&T Engineering, Vol. 2, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestengg.1c00248	journal	December 2021
Recovery of Critical Metals from Aqueous Sources Can Sener, Serife E.; Thomas, Valerie M.; Hogan, David E. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, Vol. 9, Issue 35 https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.1c03005	journal	August 2021
Safety and Technical Feasibility of Sustainable Reuse of Shale Gas Flowback and Produced Water after Advanced Treatment Aimed at Wheat Irrigation Yang, Yushun; Tian, Lun; Borch, Thomas ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, Vol. 10, Issue 38 https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c02170	journal	September 2022
Geochemical and Strontium Isotope Characterization of Produced Waters from Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Extraction Chapman, Elizabeth C.; Capo, Rosemary C.; Stewart, Brian W. Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 46, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1021/es204005g	journal	March 2012
How to make lithium extraction cleaner, faster and cheaper — in six steps Haddad, Andrew Z.; Hackl, Lukas; Akuzum, Bilen Nature, Vol. 616, Issue 7956 https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-00978-2	journal	April 2023
Environmental impact of direct lithium extraction from brines Vera, María L.; Torres, Walter R.; Galli, Claudia I. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, Vol. 4, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-022-00387-5	journal	February 2023
Prospects of metal recovery from wastewater and brine DuChanois, Ryan M.; Cooper, Nathanial J.; Lee, Boreum Nature Water, Vol. 1, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-022-00006-z	journal	January 2023
Recovery of rare earth elements with ionic liquids Wang, Kaiying; Adidharma, Hertanto; Radosz, Maciej Green Chemistry, Vol. 19, Issue 19 https://doi.org/10.1039/C7GC02141K	journal	January 2017
An efficient method for the separation of REEs from Ba for the accurate determination of REE content in Ba-rich samples by ICP-MS Liu, Wengang; An, Yuchen; Qu, Qinyuan Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry, Vol. 38, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1039/D2JA00332E	journal	January 2023
Direct Trace Element Determination in Oil and Gas Produced Waters with Inductively Coupled Plasma‐Optical Emission Spectrometry: Advantages of High‐Salinity Tolerance Jubb, Aaron M.; Engle, Mark A.; Chenault, Jessica M. Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research, Vol. 44, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1111/ggr.12316	journal	April 2020
Understanding the future of lithium: Part 2, temporally and spatially resolved life‐cycle assessment modeling Ambrose, Hanjiro; Kendall, Alissa Journal of Industrial Ecology, Vol. 24, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.12942	journal	October 2019
Understanding the future of lithium: Part 1, resource model Ambrose, Hanjiro; Kendall, Alissa Journal of Industrial Ecology, Vol. 24, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.12949	journal	October 2019
Evolution of formation waters in the Permian Basin, United States: Late Permian evaporated seawater to Neogene meteoric water Saller, Arthur H.; Stueber, Alan M. AAPG Bulletin, Vol. 102, Issue 03 https://doi.org/10.1306/0504171612517157	journal	March 2018
Induced Seismicity in the Delaware Basin, West Texas, is Caused by Hydraulic Fracturing and Wastewater Disposal Savvaidis, Alexandros; Lomax, Anthony; Breton, Caroline Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, Vol. 110, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1785/0120200087	journal	August 2020
Managing Basin‐Scale Fluid Budgets to Reduce Injection‐Induced Seismicity from the Recent U.S. Shale Oil Revolution Scanlon, Bridget R.; Weingarten, Matthew B.; Murray, Kyle E. Seismological Research Letters, Vol. 90, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1785/0220180223	journal	October 2018
Water Management Challenges Associated with the Production of Shale Gas by Hydraulic Fracturing Gregory, K. B.; Vidic, R. D.; Dzombak, D. A. Elements, Vol. 7, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.2113/gselements.7.3.181	journal	June 2011
Technology for the Recovery of Lithium from Geothermal Brines Stringfellow, William T.; Dobson, Patrick F. Energies, Vol. 14, Issue 20 https://doi.org/10.3390/en14206805	journal	October 2021
Characterizing Various Produced Waters from Shale Energy Extraction within the Context of Reuse Liden, Tiffany; Hildenbrand, Zacariah L.; Sanchez-Rosario, Ramon Energies, Vol. 15, Issue 13 https://doi.org/10.3390/en15134521	journal	June 2022
Predicting Rare Earth Element Potential in Produced and Geothermal Waters of the United States via Emergent Self-Organizing Maps Engle, Mark A.; Nye, Charles W.; Neupane, Ghanashyam Energies, Vol. 15, Issue 13 https://doi.org/10.3390/en15134555	journal	June 2022
Produced Water Treatment and Valorization: A Techno-Economical Review Sanchez-Rosario, Ramon; Hildenbrand, Zacariah L. Energies, Vol. 15, Issue 13 https://doi.org/10.3390/en15134619	journal	June 2022
TOC/Conductivity: Surrogate Measurements Potentially Guiding Greater Utilization of Treated Produced Water Hildenbrand, Zacariah L.; Sanchez-Rosario, Ramon; Klima, Alexis Energies, Vol. 16, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.3390/en16010206	journal	December 2022
Thermal Desalination of Produced Water—An Analysis of the Partitioning of Constituents into Product Streams and Its Implications for Beneficial Use Outside the O&G Industry Ghurye, Ganesh L.; Mishra, Dhananjay; Lucas, Luke Water, Vol. 13, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.3390/w13081068	journal	April 2021
Spatiotemporal Analysis of Produced Water Demand for Fit-For-Purpose Reuse—A Permian Basin, New Mexico Case Study Sabie, Robert P.; Pillsbury, Lana; Xu, Pei Water, Vol. 14, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.3390/w14111735	journal	May 2022
Analysis of Regulatory Framework for Produced Water Management and Reuse in Major Oil- and Gas-Producing Regions in the United States Jiang, Wenbin; Lin, Lu; Xu, Xuesong Water, Vol. 14, Issue 14 https://doi.org/10.3390/w14142162	journal	July 2022

Similar Records

Geochemical characterization of lithium deposition in fossil energy wastes

Conference · 2023 · OSTI ID:2500840

Stuckman, Mengling; Mackey, Justin; Barczok, Maximilian; +3 more

Estimating Lithium Fluxes from Produced Water: Marcellus Shale and Beyond

Conference · 2024 · OSTI ID:2453908

Mackey, Justin; Bain, Daniel; Gardiner, James; +13 more

Baseline Cost Analysis of Energy Wastewater Treatment with Preliminary Feasibility Analysis of Critical Mineral Recovery

Journal Article · 2025 · Minerals · OSTI ID:2522850

Able, Chad; Schmitt, Thomas; Siefert, Nicholas; +1 more

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
critical mineral concentration
mineral recovery
produced water
rare earth elements

Title: Critical mineral source potential from oil & gas produced waters in the United States

Citation Formats

References (62)

Similar Records

Related Subjects