Oil and precious metals recovery from wastewater creates new revenue streams

With rising commodity prices, recovery of resources from wastewater streams is becoming increasingly feasible, especially oil, precious metals and industrial fats, oils and greases (FOG), according to Lux Research. Over the past decade, crude oil prices have risen nearly three-fold while the value of precious metals has soared over 250%, making recovery of these commodities attractive. Growing demand for biodiesel amid a restricted supply of feedstocks drives recovery of industrial FOG. However, current economics do not favour lithium and phosphate recovery.
 
“Many current wastewater streams contain resources worth billions of dollars of lost product and lost opportunity. As the value of resources rises, recovery technologies are beginning to make sense for even parts-per-million traces of materials such as precious metals and oil,” said Tess Murray, Research Associate and author of the report titled, ‘Recovering valuable resources from wastewater’.
 
According to Lux Research report, oil prices over $100/bbl help make recovery of oil from wastewater streams viable. Drillers using new techniques, like hydraulic fracturing (fraccing), have not caught up to established best practices for oil recovery, and commonly lose 6% to 10% of their extraction via wastewater. An investment of up to $7 million in recovery for these drillers pays for itself in the very first year of operation.  
 
Soaring use of biodiesel makes FOG recovery attractive. Skyrocketing biodiesel production – from 14 million gallons in 2003 to 17.1 billion gallons globally in 2013 – is the chief driver of FOG recovery. Promising technologies include new methods to recycle FOG-water mixtures and processes to convert recovered FOG into animal food, soaps, or other inedible products.
 
The report stated that regulation can enhance recovery technologies by providing support to segments that are currently economically unviable. The ‘zero discharge’ policies of Norway, for example, brought about recovery of virtually all oil from water used in drilling. Argentina and Chile are pursuing similar methods in mining, aiding recovery of less expensive metals.