Composition and Critical Mineral Content of Major Industrial Wastewaters: Implications for Treatment and Resource Recovery Technologies

Abstract Critical minerals (CMs), such as lithium for rechargeable batteries and rare earth elements for electrical components, are the new “fuel” driving modern economies, technologies, and infrastructure, yet their supply chains are vulnerable to disruption. The widespread presence of CMs in industrial wastewater has motivated the development of wastewater resource recovery technologies aimed at enhancing supply chain resilience and mitigating environmental impacts. However, wastewater characteristics are highly variable and often poorly reported, leading researchers to rely on synthetic substitutes that often misrepresent the real properties. To better guide this research, here we compile and analyze the CM content, background water chemistry, and generation rate of major industrial wastewaters. We consider six industries: oil and gas production, metal and coal mining, manufacturing, fossil fuel power generation, geothermal power generation, and gasification. In addition, we analyze waste streams from twenty-two individual activities within these industries. We conclude our study by (1) identifying industries and waste streams with high CM recovery potential, (2) highlighting common challenges for recovery technologies, and (3) creating representative wastewater compositions for each industrial activity, thereby accelerating the development of realistic and effective recovery technologies.