Paul Ziemkiewicz, the director of the West Virginia Water Research Institute
The May 19 issue of the Washington Post published an insightful article entitled, "In coal country, a new chance to clean up a toxic legacy," featuring Paul Ziemkiewicz, the director of the West Virginia Water Research Institute, a program of the Energy Institute at West Virginia University.
The story outlines how states are researching ways to clean up acid mine drainage from 12,000 miles of streams and rivers by extracting rare earth elements, known as REEs, and returning clean water back into the waterways. As noted in the article, the Water Research Institute "has pioneered research into recycling acid mine drainage."
Ziemkiewicz also said in the article that the WVU REE research extraction site in West Virginia will cost the state $8.7 million, according to the West Virginia DEP. It will siphon off and process 1.4 million gallons of polluted water each day — recovering up to 400 tons a year of rare earths plus cobalt and nickel."
To read the full article, go to this link at the Washington Post website.
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The West Virginia Water Research Institute is a program of the Energy Institute at West Virginia University.