Themed collection Brine Mining Nexus
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Lithium extraction from Chinese salt-lake brines: opportunities, challenges, and future outlook
Chinese salt-lake brine is mainly of the magnesium sulfate subtype with a high Mg/Li ratio. To extract high purity lithium chloride from Chinese brine has been a decade-long challenge. This review summarizes the state-of-the-art of lithium extraction from Chinese salt-lake brine.
Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2017,3, 593-597
https://doi.org/10.1039/C7EW00020K
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Three promising applications of microbial electrochemistry for the water sector
The potential applications of microbial electrochemistry are many; three promising ones are sensors, in situ bioremediation, and metal recovery.
Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2017,3, 391-402
https://doi.org/10.1039/C6EW00325G
A review of the management and treatment of brine solutions
This paper critically reviews current technologies for concentrate management including emerging membrane technologies, which could recover valuable minerals from brine solutions.
Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2017,3, 625-658
https://doi.org/10.1039/C6EW00339G
![Open Access](https://www.rsc-cdn.org/pubs-core/2022.0.147/content/NewImages/open-access-icon-orange.png)
Mining valuable minerals from seawater: a critical review
Methods of extracting valuable minerals from seawater and seawater brines generated in desalination plants are critically reviewed in this paper.
Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2017,3, 37-53
https://doi.org/10.1039/C6EW00268D
On the optimal design of forward osmosis desalination systems with NH3–CO2–H2O solutions
The optimal working pressure and composition of the draw solution is identified. The forward osmosis process is compared with reverse osmosis and thermal desalination in terms of specific work, membrane area, and second law efficiency.
Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2017,3, 811-829
https://doi.org/10.1039/C7EW00037E
Silica fouling in coal seam gas water reverse osmosis desalination
Silica fouling was studied in RO desalination of high salinity (30–60 g L−1 as NaCl) coal seam gas (CSG) water for a range of silica concentrations, pH conditions and dissolved aluminium concentrations.
Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2017,3, 911-921
https://doi.org/10.1039/C7EW00128B
Demonstration of membrane distillation on textile waste water: assessment of long term performance, membrane cleaning and waste heat integration
A three month membrane distillation trial demonstrated innovative pretreatments, cleaning and waste heat integration as an inland textile industry wastewater solution.
Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2017,3, 433-449
https://doi.org/10.1039/C6EW00290K
Enhanced water recovery in the coal seam gas industry using a dual reverse osmosis system
A robust method involving intermediate nanofiltration in a dual stage RO system to achieve high water recovery rates from coal seam water has been developed.
Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2017,3, 278-292
https://doi.org/10.1039/C6EW00266H
Synergistic effect of combined colloidal and organic fouling in membrane distillation: Measurements and mechanisms
We examined the synergistic effect of combined fouling in MD process with three organic foulants – alginate, bovine serum albumin, and humic acid – in the presence of colloidal silica particles.
Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2017,3, 119-127
https://doi.org/10.1039/C6EW00156D
About this collection
Guest Edited by Long Nghiem (University of Wollongong, Australia), Enrico Drioli (Università della Calabria, Italy), Tzahi Cath (Colorado School of Mines, USA) and Tao He (Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, China), this themed collection in Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology showcases some of the latest work being conducted in the field of brine management technology.
Brine or concentrate management represents both challenges in terms of saline wastewater disposal and opportunities regarding the recovery of valuable minerals. Successful integration of brine management techniques and other processes can open up a new horizon for water and wastewater treatment, but will require complementary and innovative development in both process engineering and materials science. The papers in this collection cover an array of research topics in process engineering and materials sciences specific toward the development or further improvement of brine management technologies.