Does Dealing With Waste and Finding Some Gold Go Together?

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The following post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga.

High-quality coal ash, a byproduct from mercury emissions created by coal-fired utilities, is widely used in industry including the heavy industrial and transportation sectors to create cement, concrete, and asphalt.

Low-quality coal ash, by contrast, is largely just dumped into ponds owned by power companies and has been for decades, damaging the water, soil and surrounding environment with mercury, arsenic and other contaminants.

ME2C Environmental MEEC, formerly known as Midwest Energy Emissions Corp., reports that it is trying to solve the runoff problem with an environmentally far friendlier approach while it also attempts to extract valuable materials, namely rare earth elements (REE), during that same process. These coal ash ponds are not only toxic for our environment, they are rich in REEs.

The challenge is huge as there are an estimated 1,100 ponds across 37 states in the country with coal ash contamination. Even among those that report data, environmental advocates such as nonprofit Earthjustice show a vast majority are reporting levels of toxins significantly above federal limits regarding safe drinking water.

Duke Energy Corp. DUK is among the many energy companies seeking solutions to dealing with the coal ash runoff issue. Last year, the North Carolina-based company reached an agreement on how to proceed with such remediation.

And the problem is long standing. In 2008, utility group Tennessee Valley Authority TVC released 5.4 million cubic yards of coal ash following a dike failure, the waste spilling eventually into the Emory River.

The energy sector has reportedly been aware of the coal ash issue for years but the cleanup cost is extraordinary - in the billions for larger plants, such as Duke. The cost is the responsibility of the utility and cannot be passed through the rate structure to the consumer. Michael Regan, current EPA Director, previously headed the NC’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) leading the charge against Duke.  Michael Regan and other key departments, such as the Department of Energy and the H.R. Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, are bringing coal ash to the forefront. Regulations in the area, such as those recently announced for wastewater, are expected.

Patented Technology Might Help

Texas-based ME2C’s approach to try to tackle such a massive problem, one that company CEO Richard MacPherson calls the “largest environmental issue” currently facing the United States, is to focus on their skillset in chemisorption technology.

Also known as sorbent technology, it is able to capture emissions such as mercury at a more efficient and cost-effective rate than other competing technologies, MacPherson said. ME2C’s patented sorbent technology, known as SEAⓇ (Sorbent Enhancement Additive), provides other benefits, including maintaining the quality of the coal ash, which ME2C’s customers use as a revenue stream selling the ash for industry use. ME2C’s expertise in chemisorption and sorbent technologies led to their looking at this approach for other applications, such as rare earth element capture, wastewater, and coal ash remediation.  

Chemisorption extraction of REEs, which are a valuable component in such sectors and products as automobile catalysts, batteries, and medical devices, may prove to be an exciting alternative to traditional REE extraction processes.

Currently, much of the world’s rare earth elements extraction is performed in China. The U.S. wants to change that by extracting and processing those elements domestically, but there is a major problem in that the typical process for doing so can be environmentally degrading.

Acid leaching is the most commonly used method of processing extracted REEs, and this process requires significant amounts of caustic acid to separate the elements from the ore. The use of such a product, as well as its disposal, can cause environmental problems.

ME2C believes its technology will both solve the over-reliance on China for REEs and will also provide a safer technology process in doing so.

“Our technology will allow REEs to be processed domestically in a highly cost-effective, environmentally safe manner thus ensuring a more secure U.S. infrastructure,” the company says.

After completing a second phase of testing with Penn State’s Center for Earth & Mineral Sciences, the company is working toward in-field, pilot scale testing to begin over the next few months. The larger-scale testing in a real-world environment might allow ME2C to determine a commercial value and will lay a path to introducing the technology to real applications and commercial entities.

We wonder, could this chemisorption technology be used for other metals, such as copper and gold? The company has not discounted this, stating that sorbent technologies can be used for many types of extraction applications. ME2C Environmental believes that after nearly 15 years of building a solid mercury capture business, they are only just beginning.

The preceding post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga. Although the piece is not and should not be construed as editorial content, the sponsored content team works to ensure that any and all information contained within is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge and research. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.