Methods are disclosed for synthesizing materials, including an initial synthesis in the presence of WS-ODSO (which can include a pH-modified WS-ODSO composition, in certain embodiments a neutralized WS-ODSO composition), and one or more subsequent syntheses using supernatant (“mother liquor”) from a previous synthesis of the same or different materials. The synthesized materials in the initial synthesis and in subsequent synthesis can be the same or different inorganic oxide materials including amorphous oxides, crystalline oxides or oxides of metals. The methods advantageously reduce the amount of utility water required for synthesizing a material and reduce the water waste, and reduce the DSO waste from a refinery and discharge into the environment. In certain embodiments the methods reduce the requirements to procure an alkaline reagent required for synthesizing materials. In certain embodiments, supernatant can be recycled over multiple synthesis batches of the same or different type of material.