Lithium and Boron Recovery From Oil Field Produced Water: A Mini Review

Abstract

Produced water (PW) from oil and gas industries contains strategically important elements such as Lithium (Li) and Boron (B). The multiple application of Li and B apart from the production of heavy-duty batteries and ceramic industry give boom to the economic growth worldwide. Various effort have been poured in to investigate the cost-effective, sustainable and high recovery of Li and B. In this review paper, technologies for Li and B recovery from brine and PW is discussed emphasizing on the utilization of the PW for the recovery of these elements. Future outlook should tap into the need for the characterization of produced water to extract valuable elements and the use of hybrid technologies would be beneficial for the treatment and extraction of rare metals from the oil field produced water.