MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Exciting advancements are underway as the Water Research Institute at West Virginia University (WVWRI) expands a transformative program to extract critical materials from acid mine drainage (AMD), supported by a new, $5 million, three-year U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant. The funding, Production of Individually Separated Rare Earth Metals, will benefit the economy, national security, and the environment.
Rare earth elements (REE) and critical materials (CM) such as cobalt, nickel, and lithium can be found in AMD. In 2016, the research team, led by WVWRI Director Dr. Paul Ziemkiewicz, pioneered a technique that economically recovers these valuable metals and removes contaminants from AMD, resulting in clean water. Not only will this be a boon for the environment; it will also create economic and social benefits for the surrounding communities.
“AMD is one of the most harmful stream pollutants and is responsible for over 6,000 miles of stream impairment in West Virginia and Pennsylvania alone. AMD treatment is nothing new, but the project team has developed processes that will incentivize AMD treatment through the co-production of REE and CM,” said Ziemkiewicz.
In 2018, WVWRI built a successful pilot plant on the WVU campus to recover REE and CM from AMD. In 2022, the team received additional DOE and state funds to build a full-scale treatment plant near Mount Storm with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP). This plant treats over one million gallons of AMD per day, and it is the world’s first facility that continuously treats AMD while producing high-grade REE and CM pre-concentrates.
This latest grant from DOE will continue the successful technology development partnerships with Dr. Aaron Noble of Virginia Tech and Dr. Tom Larochelle of L3 Process Development. Other industrial partners include Rockwell Automation, Endress & Houser, and Terves Inc. These collaborations have allowed the team to scale up rapidly and refine production processes in preparation for commercialization.
“While the process is not yet fully commercial, in eight years, we have advanced from lab-bench testing to WVDEP’s full-scale, 800 gallons per minute facility near Mt. Storm. That plant continuously treats AMD while producing a 1% REE pre-concentrate. This new, three-year project will take us the next step toward commercialization by designing and building a process train that will refine our pre-concentrate into a mixed rare earth oxide with an REE grade exceeding 90%. We will then design and operate a process for separating the mixed rare earth oxides into individually separated products ready for the market. At that point, we will have a technology package that can be commercially deployed,” explained Ziemkiewicz.
With this new funding, the project team is continuing to develop REE extractants with a purity target of 99% while slashing costs by 20%. This new development has additional environmental benefits over conventional solvent extraction methods. The researchers will also design innovative processes to simultaneously extract even more CM – including cobalt, nickel, manganese, lithium, and zinc – than the current process allows.
CM are essential components of advanced technologies in various industries, including transportation, power generation, and electronics. Having a secure, domestic supply of these elements benefits the U.S. economy and national security. Furthermore, extracting REE from AMD creates new jobs in West Virginia.
Elizabeth Vitullo, Assistant Vice President for Economic Innovation at WVU, is part of the team charged with engaging the community and catalyzing workforce development. Vitullo indicated the importance of involving local communities through workforce development and community engagement. Vitullo and her colleagues constructed a community benefits plan to evaluate this project and ensure ways to make it inclusive, accessible, and beneficial for West Virginians.
“As technology evolves, we work with local technical schools to make sure students are prepared with the necessary skills [for new job opportunities]," Vitullo stated.
Vitullo continued, "The combination of AMD remediation, sourcing essential critical materials, and building economic opportunities has been really well received [by Grant and Tucker Counties]. We are excited to continue to engage with the local communities as this project progresses.”
The overarching goal of WVWRI’s critical materials program is to develop innovative technologies that convert AMD into commercially viable REE and CM. The research team has been dedicated to transforming water remediation into a dual benefit by extracting CM from AMD waste. As the technology progresses towards commercialization, the priority is to make sure the communities that have been harmed by AMD are now receiving the benefits. WVWRI is effectively paving the way for even more promising advancements in the future, fostering resilience in West Virginia for generations to come.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Becca Phillips
West Virginia Water Research Institute
becca.phillips@mail.wvu.edu