NETL’s ongoing water-energy research projects, including efforts to extract critical minerals (CMs) from water and other waste streams in support of the Administration’s work to revitalize coal, oil and gas, and powerplant communities impacted by the transition to clean energy, are highlighted in the latest edition of Water-Energy Nexus News.

The newsletter recaps a presentation by Mengling Stuckman, Ph.D., in which she discussed the Lab’s research to support sustainable, domestic CM recovery from energy production waste streams. In remarks at a Pennsylvania Independent Oil and Gas Association water and waste management seminar, Stuckman explained how NETL’s efforts could help the U.S. end its reliance on foreign countries to obtain CMs.

Other updates in this edition of Water-Energy Nexus News include:

• The Researcher Spotlight feature profiles Stuckman and explores the career path she has followed to become an innovative expert in sustainably extracting rare earth elements and CMs from domestic sources, and how she initiated and implemented challenging environmental and geochemical studies for complex energy systems and carbon storage.
• The edition highlights work undertaken by an NETL research team whose multi-functional sorbent technology (MUST) recently earned a prestigious 2021 R&D 100 Award. MUST is a low-cost sorbent innovation that can remove heavy metals and CMs from acid mine discharge and other waste waters.
• Other content reviews an announcement by the U.S. Department of Energy and National Alliance for Water Innovation to award funding to develop desalination technologies that will help bring freshwater supplies to communities across the nation.
• Work by an up-and-coming researcher is featured as well. Preom Sarkar, an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education fellow, served as a member of the NETL geomicrobiology and geochemistry group. Under the guidance of her mentor, Djuna Gulliver, Ph.D., Sarkar conducted research on water management of power systems, with a specific focus on biological treatment of flue gas desulfurization systems.

Water-Energy Nexus News is also a one-stop shop for links to recent water-related journal articles, upcoming conferences and events and more. Check out the latest edition of Water-Energy Nexus News today!

NETL is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory that drives innovation and delivers technological solutions for an environmentally sustainable and prosperous energy future. By leveraging its world-class talent and research facilities, NETL is ensuring affordable, abundant and reliable energy that drives a robust economy and national security, while developing technologies to manage carbon across the full life cycle, enabling environmental sustainability for all Americans.