Unlocking hidden mineral resources: Characterization and potential of bitterns as alternative sources of critical raw materials
Mineral extraction from seawater brines has emerged as a viable solution to reduce Europe's reliance on imported Critical Raw Materials (CRM). However, the economic viability of this approach hinges on the local demand for sodium chloride, the primary product of such extraction processes. This...
| Autores: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2024 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) |
| Repositorio: | UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/408131 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/2117/408131 https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.140412 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Raw materials Saltworks Bitterns Analytical techniques Critical raw materials Minerals recovery Trace elements Matèries primeres Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria química::Química del medi ambient |
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Unlocking hidden mineral resources: Characterization and potential of bitterns as alternative sources of critical raw materialsRandazzo, SerenaVicari, FabrizioLópez Rodríguez, Julio|||0000-0001-6739-7960Salem, Mohamed|||0000-0001-8822-8613Lo Brutto, RitaAzzouz, S.Chamam, S.Cataldo, SalvatoreMuratore, NicolaFernández de Labastida Ventura, Marcos|||0000-0003-0753-8965Vallés Nebot, Víctor|||0000-0001-5768-8107Pettignano, AlbertoD'alì Staiti, GiacomoPawlowski, SylwinHannachi, AhmedCortina Pallás, José Luis|||0000-0002-3719-5118Cipollina, AndreaRaw materialsSaltworksBitternsAnalytical techniquesCritical raw materialsMinerals recoveryTrace elementsMatèries primeresÀrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria química::Química del medi ambientMineral extraction from seawater brines has emerged as a viable solution to reduce Europe's reliance on imported Critical Raw Materials (CRM). However, the economic viability of this approach hinges on the local demand for sodium chloride, the primary product of such extraction processes. This study investigates the potential of residual brines, commonly known as "bitterns," generated during solar sea-salt extraction in traditional saltworks, as an alternative source of minerals. The Mediterranean region, encompassing South-European, North-African, Near East coasts, and parts of the Atlantic regions, is particularly conducive to exploring this prospect due to its extensive solar sea salt industry. Saltworks in the region, adopting various operational strategies based on feed quality or local climate conditions, produce different types of bitterns, each holding a latent resource potential that has remained largely unexplored. Within the framework of the EU-funded SEArcularMINE project, it was conducted an extensive analytical campaign to characterize bitterns collected from a diverse saltworks network. The analysis revealed the presence of sodium, potassium, magnesium, chloride, sulfate, and bromide in concentrations ranging from g/kg, while boron, calcium, lithium, rubidium, and strontium were found in the mg/kg range. Additionally, trace elements (TEs) such as cobalt, cesium, gallium, and germanium were detected at concentrations in the order of µg/kg. Detailed results on the composition of bitterns are presented, emphasizing the distinct characteristics observed at different sites. The estimated potential for mineral recovery from these bitterns is approximately 190 €/m3, considering the production capacity of about 9 Mm3 per year in the Mediterranean area. This finding underscores the significant contribution that mineral recovery from bitterns could make in securing access to CRMs for the European Union.Peer ReviewedElsevier20242024-01-1020242024-05-16journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501VoRhttp://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85info:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/2117/408131https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.140412reponame:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPCinstname:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)Inglésengopen accesshttp://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/4081312026-05-27T15:37:01Z |
| dc.title.none.fl_str_mv |
Unlocking hidden mineral resources: Characterization and potential of bitterns as alternative sources of critical raw materials |
| title |
Unlocking hidden mineral resources: Characterization and potential of bitterns as alternative sources of critical raw materials |
| spellingShingle |
Unlocking hidden mineral resources: Characterization and potential of bitterns as alternative sources of critical raw materials Randazzo, Serena Raw materials Saltworks Bitterns Analytical techniques Critical raw materials Minerals recovery Trace elements Matèries primeres Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria química::Química del medi ambient |
| title_short |
Unlocking hidden mineral resources: Characterization and potential of bitterns as alternative sources of critical raw materials |
| title_full |
Unlocking hidden mineral resources: Characterization and potential of bitterns as alternative sources of critical raw materials |
| title_fullStr |
Unlocking hidden mineral resources: Characterization and potential of bitterns as alternative sources of critical raw materials |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Unlocking hidden mineral resources: Characterization and potential of bitterns as alternative sources of critical raw materials |
| title_sort |
Unlocking hidden mineral resources: Characterization and potential of bitterns as alternative sources of critical raw materials |
| dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv |
Randazzo, Serena Vicari, Fabrizio López Rodríguez, Julio|||0000-0001-6739-7960 Salem, Mohamed|||0000-0001-8822-8613 Lo Brutto, Rita Azzouz, S. Chamam, S. Cataldo, Salvatore Muratore, Nicola Fernández de Labastida Ventura, Marcos|||0000-0003-0753-8965 Vallés Nebot, Víctor|||0000-0001-5768-8107 Pettignano, Alberto D'alì Staiti, Giacomo Pawlowski, Sylwin Hannachi, Ahmed Cortina Pallás, José Luis|||0000-0002-3719-5118 Cipollina, Andrea |
| author |
Randazzo, Serena |
| author_facet |
Randazzo, Serena Vicari, Fabrizio López Rodríguez, Julio|||0000-0001-6739-7960 Salem, Mohamed|||0000-0001-8822-8613 Lo Brutto, Rita Azzouz, S. Chamam, S. Cataldo, Salvatore Muratore, Nicola Fernández de Labastida Ventura, Marcos|||0000-0003-0753-8965 Vallés Nebot, Víctor|||0000-0001-5768-8107 Pettignano, Alberto D'alì Staiti, Giacomo Pawlowski, Sylwin Hannachi, Ahmed Cortina Pallás, José Luis|||0000-0002-3719-5118 Cipollina, Andrea |
| author_role |
author |
| author2 |
Vicari, Fabrizio López Rodríguez, Julio|||0000-0001-6739-7960 Salem, Mohamed|||0000-0001-8822-8613 Lo Brutto, Rita Azzouz, S. Chamam, S. Cataldo, Salvatore Muratore, Nicola Fernández de Labastida Ventura, Marcos|||0000-0003-0753-8965 Vallés Nebot, Víctor|||0000-0001-5768-8107 Pettignano, Alberto D'alì Staiti, Giacomo Pawlowski, Sylwin Hannachi, Ahmed Cortina Pallás, José Luis|||0000-0002-3719-5118 Cipollina, Andrea |
| author2_role |
author author author author author author author author author author author author author author author author |
| dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv |
Raw materials Saltworks Bitterns Analytical techniques Critical raw materials Minerals recovery Trace elements Matèries primeres Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria química::Química del medi ambient |
| topic |
Raw materials Saltworks Bitterns Analytical techniques Critical raw materials Minerals recovery Trace elements Matèries primeres Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria química::Química del medi ambient |
| description |
Mineral extraction from seawater brines has emerged as a viable solution to reduce Europe's reliance on imported Critical Raw Materials (CRM). However, the economic viability of this approach hinges on the local demand for sodium chloride, the primary product of such extraction processes. This study investigates the potential of residual brines, commonly known as "bitterns," generated during solar sea-salt extraction in traditional saltworks, as an alternative source of minerals. The Mediterranean region, encompassing South-European, North-African, Near East coasts, and parts of the Atlantic regions, is particularly conducive to exploring this prospect due to its extensive solar sea salt industry. Saltworks in the region, adopting various operational strategies based on feed quality or local climate conditions, produce different types of bitterns, each holding a latent resource potential that has remained largely unexplored. Within the framework of the EU-funded SEArcularMINE project, it was conducted an extensive analytical campaign to characterize bitterns collected from a diverse saltworks network. The analysis revealed the presence of sodium, potassium, magnesium, chloride, sulfate, and bromide in concentrations ranging from g/kg, while boron, calcium, lithium, rubidium, and strontium were found in the mg/kg range. Additionally, trace elements (TEs) such as cobalt, cesium, gallium, and germanium were detected at concentrations in the order of µg/kg. Detailed results on the composition of bitterns are presented, emphasizing the distinct characteristics observed at different sites. The estimated potential for mineral recovery from these bitterns is approximately 190 €/m3, considering the production capacity of about 9 Mm3 per year in the Mediterranean area. This finding underscores the significant contribution that mineral recovery from bitterns could make in securing access to CRMs for the European Union. |
| publishDate |
2024 |
| dc.date.none.fl_str_mv |
2024 2024-01-10 2024 2024-05-16 |
| dc.type.none.fl_str_mv |
journal article http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501 VoR http://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85 |
| dc.type.openaire.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/article |
| format |
article |
| dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv |
https://hdl.handle.net/2117/408131 https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.140412 |
| url |
https://hdl.handle.net/2117/408131 https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.140412 |
| dc.language.none.fl_str_mv |
Inglés eng |
| language_invalid_str_mv |
Inglés |
| language |
eng |
| dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv |
open access http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2 Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ |
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info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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open access http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2 Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ |
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openAccess |
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application/pdf |
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Elsevier |
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Elsevier |
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reponame:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC instname:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) |
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