Natural resource recovery/processing

Since the prices of petroleum products have soared, valorization of natural resources has intensively attracted the attention of researchers in different fields. To fully utilize wood, which is a renewable raw material, one must make better use of its 25-30% lignin content which forms the principal dissolved material in the spent liquor of chemical pulping processes. The annual production of sulfite pulp in Canada is approximately 2.6 million tons (data based on 1979), thus, at least one million tons of lignosulfonate is produced, representing a potential resource of raw material for other uses. However, among 35 sulfite mills in Canada, only two or three of them possess a recovery system for spent liquor, that means a very small portion of lignosulfonate has been recovered. The recovered lignin has been... 

Mining, and Oil and Gas Exploration. The process of searching for valuable natural resources has been radically altered in the last generation by the introduction of radiation wave-based exploratory techniques. Nuclear technology is also important to resource recovery and transportation in these industries. Lateral drilling, for example, relies on radiation wave directives to tap into small oil deposits, and construction and pipeline crews routinely use radiation waves to test the durability of welds and the density of road surfaces. 

Figure 8.1. Generalized flow sheet for uraniiun recovery from ore or natural resources by Amex and Dapex process (reproduced with permission from Kumar et at., 2011).

However, one of the main problems in the 21 century will be the lack of natural resources [7, 8]. In particular, our dependence on fossil fuels will exhaust the existing reserves in a few decades due to this scenario, nations have to develop and improve new technologies for the recovery and processing of petroleum and its derivatives, and search for new energy sources. 

Mineral resources are nonrenewable resources, in contrast to renewable resources such as surface water and timber, which are or can be replenished naturally or artificially. The geological processes by which most mineral deposits form take a very long time. They can, in no way, be thought to replenish deposits extracted from the ground and dispersed by use. However, it is important to recognize that mineral resources are extendable with the help of advancing technology that develops uses for sources that were not readily usable or exploitable before, allows hidden deposits to be discovered, and enhances the efficiency of recovery and of use. 

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