News

Natural gas production in the US is at an all-time high, according to the latest reports from the US Energy Information Administration. But the dramatic growth of shale gas over the past decade, made possible by hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has led to huge volumes of salty wastewater called brine or produced water.

As the fracking industry improves its efficiency by drilling ever-longer horizontal wells, it also increases the amount of water it uses to fracture the rock to release the gas. The fracturing process uses on average about 45 million L of water for a single horizontal well, according to the Groundwater Protection Council (GWPC), a group of state oil and gas regulators and environmental protection agencies.

Opinion piece by The Exponent Telegram

Working with the National Energy Technology Laboratory, WVU and the West Virginia Water Research Institute have secured a $5 million grant to develop methods to retrieve rare earth elements (REEs) from acid mine drainage and fly ash.

The West Virginia Water Research Institute (WVWRI) is requesting proposals for research expected to be funded March 1, 2020 through February 28, 2021. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Department of the Interior, will sponsor the research. Faculty from all West Virginia colleges and universities are encouraged to submit proposals. Funding selected proposals is dependent upon the availability of funds. It is expected that 3-5 projects will be funded in the range of $10,000 – $20,000 each. It is expected that approximately $70,000 will be available for new projects in 2020.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia Water Research Institute at West Virginia University has been awarded $5 million by the U.S. Department of Energy to scale up its successful Rare Earth Recovery Project, which will include building a facility at a new acid mine drainage treatment plant near Mount Storm.

MORGANTOWN — The development of a steady domestic supply of crucial rare-earth elements has been in the works for some time, and mining engineers at West Virginia University are among those working toward that goal.

Scandium, yttrium, lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium and lutetium are the 17 REEs. These elements play a vital role in technologies ranging from green energy and consumer electronics to missile defense systems and aerospace applications.

Written by: Carrie Staton

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The Northern WV Brownfields Assistance Center (NBAC) at West Virginia University (WVU), partnered with InnerAction Media (IAM) in 2019 to produce two videos that showcase Morgantown, Fairmont, Star City and the surrounding areas along the Monongahela River.

by Sydney Maurer, The Hampshire Review

CAPON BRIDGE, W.Va. – Capon Bridge’s Capon School Street has been selected as the first site to benefit from the newly reactivated FOCUS WV grant program launched by the Northern West Virginia Brownfields Assistance Center at West Virginia University.

When asked if the old coal mine is now like a potential gold mine because of rare earth elements, Dr. Paul Ziemkiewicz, professor and director of the West Virginia Water Research Institute at WVU, responded, “That’s a nice way of putting it.”

The Marcellus Shale Coalition consists of essentially all the companies involved in the shale gas industry.  It is holding its annual Shale Insight conference in October in Pittsburgh and welcomes student participation. This is a good opportunity for faculty to become familiar with the industry and for students to meet potential employers. Skills that are in demand include not only petroleum engineering and geology but GIS, remediation, ecological assessment. Students participation is particularly encouraged in the Technology Showcase and Student University Research Showcase sessions.