40% of US lithium needs could come from unlikely source in Pennsylvania

[Judi Lynn]

By Michael Franco
May 15, 2024



Runoff from fracking operations is not usually considered a good thing, but a new finding reveals it could be a source of a very valuable metalDALL-E
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Thanks to the increase of electric vehicles and other battery-using technologies, the demand for lithium is expected to skyrocket in the coming years. One odd but potent source of the metal is a Pennsylvania wastewater stream, says a new study.

As we've reported previously, based on current demand, the world is going to need about 59 new lithium mines hauling out 45,000 tonnes of the metal by 2035. The silvery metal is a key component of rechargeable batteries which are powering seemingly everything these days from countertop ice cube makers to freight ships.

Due to the growing demand for lithium, researchers are developing quicker ways to harvest it from the brine pits which, along with more traditional mines, are a primary source of the element. They are also looking in other places for sources of the material.

One of those places is a wastewater stream produced as a result of a fracking operation outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. There, operators of the Marcellus shale gas wells need to report levels of certain materials in the wastewater to regulators. Because the reports must mention lithium levels, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh were able to conduct an analysis that showed that if a technique could be developed that would remove 100% of the lithium from the wastewater, about 40% of America's demand for the metal could be met.

More:
https://newatlas.com/energy/lithium-fracking-wastewater-pennsylvania/