Extraction of minerals from unconventional waste sources

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for multiplexed extraction of target minerals from a variety of separate or combined desalination brines and/or wastewater sources. The use of multiple pretreatment, extraction, and posttreatment apparatuses with intelligent, directed flow control can allow for a single system to extract multiple target minerals. Improved extraction methods including zwitterionic simulated moving bed chromatography with target-specific zwitterions can allow for improved extraction efficiency and recovery rates with a dramatically reduced environmental footprint compared to existing methods.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for extraction of target minerals from a feed, the system comprising:
 an inlet operable to receive a feed mixture;   one or more pre-treatment apparatuses in fluidic communication with the inlet and operable to prepare the feed mixture for mineral extraction;   a plurality of mineral extraction apparatuses in fluidic communication with the one or more pre-treatment apparatuses and each operable to separate one or more target minerals from the pre-treated feed mixture, wherein the plurality of mineral extraction apparatuses comprise a plurality of zwitterionic simulated moving bed chromatographic separators each having a zwitterion, zeolite, or heavy metal adsorbent with an affinity selected to separate a different target mineral from the feed, wherein the plurality of mineral extraction apparatuses are operable to produce one or more concentrated target mineral liquid and reclaimed water;   one or more post-treatment apparatuses in fluidic communication with the plurality of mineral extraction apparatuses and operable to receive the one or more concentrated target mineral liquid and distill and purify the one or more target minerals from the concentrated target mineral liquid;   a system of valves operable to direct fluid flow between the inlet, the one or more pre-treatment apparatuses, the plurality of mineral extraction apparatuses, and the one or more post-treatment apparatuses; and    a controller operable to control the system of valves in a determined sequence.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the feed mixture comprises one or more selected from the group consisting of seawater, battery e-waste, oil and gas production byproducts, industrial wastewater, food and beverage wastewater, mining tailings, leachates, geothermal brines, hard-rock acid mine drainage, and synthesized brines. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the feed mixture comprises two or more selected from the group consisting of seawater, battery e-waste, oil and gas production byproducts, industrial wastewater, food and beverage wastewater, mining tailings, leachates, and synthesized brines. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more pre-treatment apparatuses are operable to perform one or more processes selected from the group of pH adjustment, distillation, kinetic energy distillation, adsorption, activated carbon filtration, bi-polar membrane electrodialysis, nanofiltration, electrolysis, membrane distillation crystallization, carbonation, ceramic wicking, and layered heavy metal sulfide filtration. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein one or more of the plurality of mineral extraction apparatuses are operable to perform direct lithium extraction, electrodialysis, membrane and ion-exchange filtration, organic sorbent filtration, or inorganic sorbent filtration. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein two or more of the plurality of mineral extraction apparatuses are arranged in parallel. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein two or more of the plurality of mineral extraction apparatuses are arranged in series. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising one or more sensors operable to measure pressure, flow rate, temperature, pH, conductivity, or concentration of target mineral in a fluid in the system. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the controller is operable to receive data from the one or more sensors and define the determined sequence based on the received data. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more target minerals are selected from the group consisting of lithium, sodium, magnesium, calcium, sodium, cobalt, manganese, potassium, rare earth elements, gallium, and transition metals. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more pretreatment apparatuses comprise a brine characterization apparatus operable to determine presence of one or more elements, concentration of one or more elements, presence of cations or anions, total organic compounds, alkalinity, salinity, total dissolved solids, conductivity, or volatile organic content in the feed mixture. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the controller is operable to receive data from the brine characterization apparatus and define the determined sequence based on the received data. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the brine characterization apparatus is operable to perform inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, x-ray fluorescence, elemental analysis, or ion chromatography on the feed mixture. 
     
     
         14 . A method for extraction of target minerals from a feed, the method comprising:
 receiving at an inlet of a system, a feed mixture;   pre-treating the received feed mixture in one or more pre-treatment apparatuses of the system to prepare for mineral extraction;   separating one or more target minerals from the pre-treated feed mixture in a plurality of mineral extraction apparatuses wherein the plurality of mineral extraction apparatuses comprise a plurality of zwitterionic simulated moving bed chromatographic separators each having a zwitterion with an affinity selected to separate a different target mineral from the feed, wherein the plurality of mineral extraction apparatuses are operable to produce one or more concentrated target mineral liquid and reclaimed water;   distilling and purifying the one or more target minerals from the concentrated target mineral liquid in one or more post-treatment apparatuses;   directing, using a controller and a system of valves, fluid flow between the inlet, the one or more pre-treatment apparatuses, the plurality of mineral extraction apparatuses, and the one or more post-treatment apparatuses in a determined sequence   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the feed mixture comprises one or more selected from the group consisting of seawater, batter e-waste, oil and gas production byproducts, industrial wastewater, food and beverage wastewater, mining tailings, leachates, geothermal brines, hard-rock acid mine drainage, and synthesized brines. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the feed mixture comprises two or more selected from the group consisting of seawater, batter e-waste, oil and gas production byproducts, industrial wastewater, food and beverage wastewater, mining tailings, leachates, and synthesized brines. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the one or more pre-treatment apparatuses perform one or more processes selected from the group of pH adjustment, adsorption, activated carbon filtration, bi-polar membrane electrodialysis, nanofiltration, electrolysis, membrane distillation crystallography, carbonation, ceramic wicking, and layered heavy metal sulfide filtration. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein one or more of the plurality of mineral extraction apparatuses perform direct lithium extraction, electrodialysis, membrane and ion-exchange filtration, organic sorbent filtration, or inorganic sorbent filtration. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein two or more of the plurality of mineral extraction apparatuses are arranged in parallel. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein two or more of the plurality of mineral extraction apparatuses are arranged in series. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising measuring pressure, flow rate, temperature, pH, conductivity, or concentration of target mineral in a fluid in the system using one or more sensors. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , further comprising receiving data from the one or more sensors at the controller and defining the determined sequence based on the received data. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the one or more target minerals are selected from the group consisting of lithium, sodium, magnesium, cobalt, manganese, potassium, rare earth elements, gallium, and transition metals. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the one or more pretreatment apparatuses comprise a brine characterization apparatus, the method comprising determining the presence of one or more elements, concentration of one or more elements, presence of cations or anions, total organic compounds, alkalinity, salinity, total dissolved solids, conductivity, or volatile organic content in the feed mixture using the brine characterization apparatus. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising receiving data from the brine characterization apparatus at the controller and defining the determined sequence based on the received data. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising performing inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy, elemental analysis, or ion chromatography on the feed mixture using the brine characterization apparatus.