Managing a precious resource

John Chadwick looks at ideas and technologies to best manage water on mines and issuing from mines. The mining water and wastewater treatment market is expected to grow from $2.29 billion in 2011 to $3.60 billion in 2016, according to research by Frost & Sullivan.

The consequences of mismanaging water can be dire, to man, beast and mining company. In just one recent example, South Africa’s Department of Water and Environmental  affairs (DWEA) has laid criminal charges against the owners of a tailing dam that overflowed and caused extensive pollution of the Selati and Olifants rivers in Limpopo.

The dam, owned by Phalaborwa-based mining company Bosveld Phosphates, overflowed in late December due to heavy rains, releasing highly acidic water into the Selati River, which flows into the Olifants River, killing fish over a 15 km stretch of water.

Noting that the company had contravened the National Water Act, DWEA Director for Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Nigel Adams explained that samples had revealed
water quality in the dam was well below the levels stipulated in the Act.

SANParks spokesman Ike Phaahla said that the environmental damage in the Kruger National Park caused by the spill was “extensive and spreading”.

Moving water

Pumps in all sorts of applications can be vital to an operation’s water management. For example, while many South African plants are still running on Warman AH® series slurry pumps for highly abrasive mill duties, an increasing number of plant operators in other parts of Africa are recognising that the latest generation Warman MCR® rubber-lined centrifugal slurry pump from Weir Minerals offers superior safety and low ownership costs, as well as outstanding performance and reliability.

“These pumps are recording major successes globally across a broad range of commodities and in Africa we’re looking at a number of additional new MCR pumps going into operation this year, so this technology is clearly generating a substantial amount of market confidence,” Rui Gomes, Product Manager: Slurry Pumps at Weir Minerals Africa, says.

“The MCR pump is specifically designed for mill discharge and cyclone feed duties, incorporating a number of elements that maximise performance in the most aggressive wear applications. Features such as impeller design, liner material, specific speed and bearing assembly allow the pump to easily manage large size particles in dense abrasive slurries and offer the right combination of ruggedness, durability, hydraulics and materials.

Weir Minerals’ new R55 rubber components are easily identifiable by their unique branding tape

“A big advantage is the full front throat bush adjustment that helps with pump efficiency and performance and is critical to the efficient operation of the pump, while a quick-change feature allows technicians to replace the wet end of the pump on site.”

At a gold mine in southwest Ghana, a trial installation matched the performance and wear life of an existing Warman 14/12 AH metal pump and a competitor’s 16/14 primary mill discharge pump. The trial also sought to determine whether a Warman 350MCR could handle the mill’s tonnage.

“The initial milestone of matching or improving on the 2,100 t/h achieved by the original pumps was quickly achieved,” Gomes says. “The second and more critical goal was to increase the wear life of the pumps and here the target of 1,000 hours of operation without failure was also achieved. The impeller lasted about 1,900 hours before requiring replacement and the R55 rubber liners continued without needing replacement.

“A number of factors drove the success of this trial. Firstly, the pump design was ideally suited to the duty, compared to the pumps previously installed —notably the contribution of the MCR’s rubber lining to the substantial increase in its wear life and the consequent improved mill availability. We were actually astounded at the performance of the rubber liners versus the metal volute originally in place. At the four month inspection there was still a substantial amount of residual value on the liners and we estimate getting to about 6,000 hours — six times as long as the life of the metal volute.”

In another successful installation in the West African gold industry, a Warman 350MCR was installed to compare against a Warman 16/14 AH metal pump. The mill was operating at flows of about 2,000 m3/h to a head of 38 m and the Weir Minerals Africa team had to install the MCR to fit in with existing pipework and foundations. The complete wet end was changed out after about 1,400 hours, which more than doubled the life of the metal volute of the 16/14, effectively improving plant availability.

“This particular site was experiencing the fairly common problem of mill balls coming through the system and cracking the metal volutes,” he says. “However, the R55 rubber liner offered an indirect, but immediate solution to this operational issue. The customer was also impressed by the quick and easy adjustment capability, the reduced cost of replacement spares and the improved safety levels. This MCR was installed in 2012 and we’re getting similar feedback after 18 months of operation.”

A third gold mine in West Africa agreed to trial an MCR pump against its existing 14/12 AH pump and a full technical team from Weir Minerals Africa designed, supplied and fitted a retrofit base. This plant was poised to increase its tonnage to 3,000 m3/h to a head of 39 m to boost output.

“The throatbush ran for about 2,000 hours — far more than what was being achieved with the 14/12 metal throatbush,” says Gomes. “Both the impeller and the liners were intact and are still running at the moment, after about 3,000 hours without replacement.

“In brownfields applications, over the years tonnages and requirements change but the pumps very rarely change. This could be detrimental if the pump becomes too big for the duty, impacting on efficiencies and pump life, or too small, affecting wear life. We’ve now proved that we’re able to retrofit MCR pumps into existing piping and foundations to achieve significant improvements with little or no downtime and we’ve started to focus on a variety of commodity plants where there is  pressure to drive costs down and improve processes.”

Wilden (well known for its air-operated double diaphragm (AODD) pump technology) has attracted a lot of attention for its Pro-Flo® SHIFT. “The Pro-Flo SHIFT’s advancement in not only performance but also energy efficiency addresses many of the concerns of the modern-day industry,” said Chris Distaso, Director of Engineering, Wilden.

“The new Pro-Flo SHIFT represents a significant breakthrough in energy efficiency within the AODD pump category. Due to its revolutionary design, the patent-pending Pro-Flo SHIFT Air Distribution System (ADS) allows Wilden AODD pumps to achieve up to a 60% savings in air consumption over all competitive AODD pump technologies, while providing more product yield per standard cubic foot per minute (SCFM)”, the company says. While it dramatically improves energy efficiency, it also costs 50% less than an electronically actuated ADS, is submersible, and features plug-and-play operation.

Its robust design makes the Pro-Flo SHIFT ideal for use in harsh operating environments and includes ATEX compliance for use in potentially explosive atmospheres. The Pro-Flo SHIFT has fewer operating parts, which equates to less downtime and simple maintenance.

Wilden’s Pro-Flo SHIFT is available with maximum suction lifts to 7.2 m dry and 9.0 m wet

It is available in 38 mm, 51 mm and 76 mm sizes and features maximum discharge pressures to 8.6 bar, maximum flows to 1,056 litres/min and maximum solid-handling size to 13 mm.

The Abaque Series of peristaltic hose pumps from Mouvex®, a leading manufacturer of positive displacement pumps, have been designed to meet the challenging requirements of mining, thanks in part to its seal-free design that eliminates leaks and product contamination.

Mouvex Abaque pumps are ideal for handling anything from abrasive and aggressive fluids to shear-sensitive and viscous materials. These self-priming pumps can run in forward or reverse and offer suction-lift capabilities to 9 m, as well as the ability to run dry without adversely affecting performance. The Abaque pumps are available in ductile iron and stainless steel construction, allowing higher discharge pressure to 16 bar.

The Abaque Series’ pumping action is achieved by the compression of a circular loop of elastomeric hose by two diametrically opposed rotating shoes. This rotational motion forces the fluid in the hose to move ahead of each shoe. When each shoe reaches the end of the loop, the reinforced hose immediately returns to its original shape, ensuring suction and priming. The housing is partially filled with lubricant, aiding the smooth running of the shoes on the hose. The inside of the hose and the hose inserts are the only pieces of equipment that come in contact with the pumped fluids, allowing aggressive and  contaminated fluids to be pumped safely and efficiently.

The hoses are available in natural rubber (ideal for use with diluted acids and alcohols), Buna-N (highly wear resistant to oily products), and EPDM (high chemical resistance when handling concentrated acids, alcohols and ketones). Abaque pumps are available in ten different sizes, with flow rates ranging from 0.26 to 1.283 litres/min and a choice of close-coupled or bare-shaft drive.

Mouvex is an operating company within Pump Solutions Group (PSG®).

Pumping solutions

Xylem has provided a complete dewatering solution, including Flygt pumps and agitators, to drain some 35 million m3 of water from a flooded mine in Sweden. The flooded Leveäniemi open-pit mine in Svappavaara is believed to contain some 110 Mt of iron ore. The mine first opened in 1961 and operated until 1983 when recession forced the cessation of work. When the world’s leading producer of processed iron ore products for steel making, LKAB, decided to undertake the challenging task of draining the mine after almost 30 years of inactivity, the company commissioned Xylem to deliver a complete dewatering solution.

“We were acutely aware of the challenges involved in emptying the mine given the volume of water we were dealing with; a project like this could have serious consequences if handled incorrectly,” explained Peder Nensén, Project Manager at LKAB, “An added challenge was northern Sweden’s harsh climate which meant that any solution would have to be able to cope with freezing temperatures.”

“We have a strong presence in northern Sweden and a long-standing relationship with this customer,” explains Robert Nyberg, Xylem’s Head of Aftermarket business for the Nordic region. “In addition, Xylem has [relevant] experience of dewatering projects in the mining sector, having developed similar solutions for mine dewatering projects in Sweden and Norway, for example.”

The complete dewatering solution provided by Xylem consists of two submersible Flygt 3351 pumps and four LS350/450 Flygt pumps, delivering a total pumping output of more than 2.5 MW. These pumps are housed in a floating pumping station in the centre of the flooded mine and in a dry station on land. Xylem also supplied 20 Flygt agitators which are designed to prevent water around the pipelines from freezing in winter months.

“Xylem worked closely with LKAB to deliver a customised turnkey solution for this project,” explained Nyberg, “This unique installation, requiring a floating pumping station, was designed specifically for this application by our team and demonstrates how we can combine our technical expertise and innovative approach to solve complex dewatering challenges.”

“Floating pumping stations aren’t usually part of our everyday work! To the best of my knowledge, Xylem was in a unique position to be able to deliver a total solution which included the installation and peripheral services,” he continued.

A double set of pipes, approximately 1,500 m in length, connect the floating station to the dry station, which, in turn, is connected to a 5-km long gravity pipe, leading to the discharge point. The water from the mine eventually runs out into the Torne River, which flows into the Gulf of Bothnia.

The Flygt floating pump station at Leveäniemi

Since the solution became operational in September 2012, Xylem has drained about 20 million m3 of water and lowered the water level by 35 m. It is envisaged that the project will be completed by 2015 after which time LKAB intends extracting 12 Mt/y of iron ore.

Roger Lundbäck, Xylem Service Manager, who, along with Nyberg, was responsible for project-managing the Leveäniemi dewatering assignment, believes that these are exciting times for the mining industry: “We’re very proud to have been asked to deliver such an extensive solution to LKAB. Xylem’s global presence enables us to respond quickly to customer needs, by providing both simple pumping solutions and more complex total solutions for projects of all shapes and sizes,” he said.

Piping

Sustainability is always an important factor in the choice of materials used to underpin mining infrastructure, especially so on a project that is destined to have a lifespan in excess of 60 years. For the surface drainage of the rail marshalling yard at the new Tonkolili iron ore mine in Sierra Leone, operator African Minerals chose Polypipe’s Ridgidrain. The company supplied to the project over 4,000 m of 300 mm Ridgidrain perforated twinwall pipe.

Specifying HDPE (high-density polyethylene) as a sustainable surface drainage solution for the marshalling yard, African Minerals selected Polypipe through a competitive tender process. The company cited a number of factors that determined its choice of the UK manufacturer, including excellent and effective communications, and the ability to work closely with both African Minerals and its shipping agent to ensure that all of the materials involved were manufactured to a precise specification and that tight shipping deadlines were met.

Provision of full documentation was also a key factor, as African Minerals Project Manager Gary Nel explains: “This project is extremely important to Sierra Leone and as the mine operator; African Minerals is committed to applying the highest standards to everything that we do. We are working to internationally recognised performance standards and so we place high demands on the materials we acquire for the mine infrastructure. The Polypipe product is backed up by full certification, so meets our specification in terms of documentation and traceability.”

Polypipe’s Ridgidrain system features a proven structured wall construction with a reduced virgin plastic content. The structured wall design gives high ring stiffness and strength and its lower weight, compared with clay or concrete products, which means reduced transport and installation costs and improved health and safety benefits for installers. HDPE provides excellent resistance to abrasion and chemical attack and withstands ground movement and differential settlement. The longer pipe lengths available reduce the number of joints required, significantly reducing the risk of leakage, while its extremely smooth bore resists blockage and makes the pipework system more easy to maintain. The product supplied for the Tonkolili project was fully perforated to allow effective sub-soil drainage.

Polypipe Export Sales Manager Philip Wood explains: “HDPE is the material of choice in many mining infrastructure applications.” It is ideally suited to rugged terrain, extreme climates and changing site environments.

In another Sierra Leone iron ore operation, a twinwall drainage system from Polypipe has been installed in the first phase of the infrastructure work at the Marampa mine using 150mm Ridgidrain pipes and associated fittings.

Infrastructure contractor Dawnus Construction was subsequently awarded an additional package of work to drain and stabilise an existing tailings dam. The Ridgidrain HDPE product was supplied for management of water decanting from the tailings, into a pipeline to drain water within the tailing dam wall to a local water treatment area.  The Ridgidrain system offers a complete solution for non-pressurised surface and sub-surface drainage applications. It is lightweight and offers exceptional compression strength with easy push-fit installation.

Flowrox has introduced the Flowrox Scaling Watch, a new product designed for the precise measurement of scale in pipelines and other fluid control environments. Scaling is a common problem in the minerals, metallurgy and waste water industries, where production rates can be adversely affected by the hardening of iron, salts and other minerals in pipes and valves.

This device is a wafer piece of pipeline engineered for insertion between two flanges for a precise fit that allows the detection of scale that can reduce the flow of fluids through a pipeline. It uses Electrical Capacitance Tomography (ECT) technology, which allows operators to see inside piping systems without stopping the process or opening up the pipeline, and enables 3D-imaging and measurement of non-conductive media inside process pipelines and tanks.

In addition, it uses a patented algorithm that creates a 3D image of the process fluid in the piping and generates trend data as well as show free volume inside the pipe and the growth rate of the scale over time.

Among other features, the Flowrox Scaling Watch can show the scale thickness, scale profile, growth rates over time, composition, and free flow volume—all of which allow engineers to understand areas where pipes are prone to scaling. It is a predictive device—rather than reactive—and allows its operators to address scale issues before they reach critical levels that can cause downtime or costly damage.

Designed to be manufactured in diverse metals, the Flowrox Scaling Watch is manufactured in carbon steel, type 316/316L stainless steel and titanium to meet the needs of industries with intense scaling issues that can result in high costs of maintenance.

While the device is not designed to detect scale on the entire length of the pipeline, it precisely measures scale in the exact spot where it is installed—usually in a section or segment where the heaviest scaling is known to occur.

Todd Loudin, President and CEO of North American Operations for Flowrox explained that it “can model mathematically the scale build-up and also provide calculations on the free available pipe remaining.”

The technology behind the Flowrox Scaling Watch was invented by Rocsole, of which Flowrox purchased a portion and assumed the responsibility for global sales, marketing and manufacturing of the device.

Containing and conserving

GSE Environmental, a leading manufacturer of containment and drainage solutions, has signed a global distribution agreement with TENAX, a leading producer of reinforcement and stabilisation products. Under this agreement, GSE has the exclusive right to distribute, on a global scale, TENAX geogrids used in mining and environmental applications.

Geogrids are geosynthetic products used for soil reinforcement and stabilisation in a variety of applications where the native soils are too weak to support expected loads or heavy traffic.

“GSE is excited to further our relationship with TENAX. With this agreement, GSE offers the broadest range of geosynthetic products and services, and we can now provide complete containment, drainage, and reinforcement solutions to our global customers, wherever they are located,” said Giovanni Capra, Vice President Business Development, GSE Environmental.

“TENAX is thrilled to partner with GSE to bring our highly-engineered reinforcement solutions to a global environmental and mining customer base.  GSE shares the same commitment to quality, innovation, and customer service that has been a cornerstone of the TENAX culture since our founding in 1959,” said Claudio Fenzo, Division Director, TENAX.

GSE is a global manufacturer and marketer of geosynthetic lining solutions, products and services used in the containment and management of solids and liquids in mining.

Greg Butlin, Ashland Water Technologies, notes that dust causes many issues including worker safety concerns, spontaneous combustion, equipment wear and ore loss, all of which impact a mine’s productivity.  “Dust control programs mitigate these issues protecting mine employees and equipment as well as preventing loss of product as it is handled.  Spraying water on roads, crushers, stockpiles and conveyor drop points is the most common method for controlling dust because it is easy to do and appears economically attractive.  Unfortunately, in many areas, water is a scarce resource and the effect of the water lasts only until it evaporates.  If the operation is not designed and well maintained, excessive volumes of water can be unnecessarily used without a positive effect on dust control due to evaporation or runoff.  Excess spray water can also cause slipping hazards, foul conveyor belts, and add unnecessary moisture to the product being shipped to the mine’s customers.

“A Canadian mine used spray water equivalent to 5% moisture addition to the ore to control dust. This created muddy ore that was difficult to handle and created a dangerous situation when it prevented the doors on the skip used to transport ore to the surface from closing properly. The addition of 0.1% of Ashland’s Zalta DS21-120 surfactant to the spray water allowed the moisture addition to be reduced to 0.75% resulting in an 84% reduction in dust levels, elimination of skip door problems and a 50% reduction in the lead levels in the miners’ blood (caused by inhalation of lead bearing ore dust).  The net reduction in water consumption was 594 million gallons per year.”

Purification

WesTech Engineering’s Iowa office has achieved ISO 9001:2008 certification. The facility oversees the General Filter and Microfloc product lines. This certification is a process that documents and verifies that a facility consistently operates at a worldclass quality level.

WesTech placed priority on gaining ISO 9001:2008 certification for its Iowa operation upon acquiring the General Filter and Microfloc product lines from Siemens in September, 2012.

WesTech engineers and manufactures process equipment and working solutions for wastewater treatment as well as minerals processing.

Westech says “the engineers at Microfloc and General Filter were the pioneers of some of today’s most standard and trusted water treatment processes, including the mixed media filter bed, commercially viable tube settlers, the upflow Adsorption Clarifier system, and the process of introducing oxygen into a process stream without breaking system pressure. General Filter and Microfloc still own the reputation for the most effective and valuable packaged treatment plants on the market.”

Late last year, the Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies Brine Concentrator System at Energy Resources of Australia’s Ranger uranium mine in the Northern Territory of Australia began operations as part of ERA’s long-term water management strategy. The system treats mine process water to produce 1,830 megalitres of clean water annually (1.3 Mgal/d). The project will play an integral part in the progressive rehabilitation activities at the mine. The system, based on HPD evaporation technology from Veolia, was delivered nearly three months earlier than scheduled through close collaboration between Veolia and ERA. An early delivery was important as ERA’s detailed water inventory modelling indicated a need for the capacity to treat large volumes of water. Despite the accelerated schedule, there were no safety incidents in the more than 700,000 man hours logged during equipment fabrication, construction, and system commissioning.

“The Brine Concentrator is a critical component of ERA’s future as the successful treatment of process water is key to rehabilitating the site and ensuring our water balances are in full control,” remarked ERA Chief Executive Rob Atkinson. “Without the Brine Concentrator I don’t believe ERA has a future.” Veolia’s industrial operating group in Australia lent its assistance in the early design stages of the facility and was subsequently awarded an interim operations and maintenance contract by ERA for the system. Early involvement of Veolia Australia’s operations team allowed an operator’s perspective to be incorporated into the design. The Veolia operations team also provided for a smooth transition from system checkout and commissioning to full operation while allowing ERA to focus their staff in other areas of the mine.

ERA Ranger, located 8 km east of Jabiru and 260 km east of Darwin is one of the world’s largest uranium producers and Australia’s longest continually operating uranium mine. Uranium has been mined at Ranger for three decades and it is one of only three mines in the world to produce in excess of 110,000 t of uranium oxide.

Earlier in 2013, across the world, Veolia Water successfully commissioned and begun operational management of the CONSOL Energy Northern West Virginia Water Treatment Facility near Mannington, West Virginia. The Zero Liquid Waste (ZLW) facility designed and built by Veolia treats 3,500 gal/min of mine drainage water. By employing a ZLW process, water of low quality is extracted and treated, and clean water is returned to the ecosystem, improving the water balance and condition of the Monongahela River watershed. Veolia is providing operational management of the facility for 10 years, guaranteeing CONSOL continual performance and optimisation of the system. The ZLW treatment concept removes contaminants in the mine water and reduces them to solid salts. The process also uses a number of sustainable practices and technology applications, reducing the carbon and energy footprint of the treatment process.

This environmentally sustainable design and construction approach was developed to help CONSOL meet discharge standards for chlorides in West Virginia’s waterways. The facility treats water from the Blacksville #2, Loveridge and Robinson Run mining operations. “In partnering with Veolia on this first-of-its-kind in scale and scope project, we were able to bring the water treatment plant online on time, under budget, and in full compliance with our permits,” commented Katharine Fredriksen, Senior Vice President Environmental Strategy and Regulatory Affairs. “This demonstrates the success of partnering with a company that shares our commitment to our core values of safety, compliance, and continuous improvement.”

To quantify the benefits of the water treatment facility to the Monongahela River, Veolia conducted a Water Impact Index (WIIX) evaluation. Developed by Veolia, the WIIX 2 measures not only water volume, but the level of stress upon local water resources, overall water quality and indirect water impacts from chemicals and electricity. Measuring all these factors, the WIIX calculates the annual water impact of the new treatment facility will be 1.3 billion gallons of high-quality water returned to the Monongahela River basin, validating a positive environmental impact by the water treatment facility. “Veolia is continually working to develop sustainable solutions to meet the needs of our industrial customers while benefitting the environment,” said Kirk Schwab, General Manager of Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies’ Pittsburgh office that designed and built the facility. “We are pleased to deliver this state-of-the-art project for CONSOL and believe that it will be the benchmark for mine water treatment in the Appalachian region for years to come.”

Veolia’s brine concentrator system is a longterm solution to ERA’s process water
management

Steve Hopper, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Veolia Environnement North America’s Industrial business, said, “The partnership with CONSOL goes beyond meeting new regulatory requirements. It combines technical know-how with operational expertise to implement a solution which positively impacts the environment while meeting the production needs of CONSOL through guaranteed performance.”

Pentair Advanced Filtration is involved in all aspects of water treatment at mining operations from mine camp potable water treatment and waste water treatment; supply of process water for mines in dry, arid regions; treatment of Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) and treatment of tailings water and recovery of precious metal s from waste streams.

Aveng Water has patented the High Precipitation Reverse Osmosis  (HiPRO) technology with treats AMD to potable water quality or better.  The technology has been successfully using the Pentair X-Flow AquaFlex membranes since the commissioning of the first plant in 2008. The HiPRO systems use three stages of UF–RO to achieve recoveries greater than 98%.

The technology has been further commercialised with references at Anglo American Coal and BHP Billiton amongst others.

X-Flow’s Seaguard membranes are in operation at the Areva SWRO plant at Swakopmund.  The plant supplies process water for the Areva uranium mines that are further inland.  UF membranes were selected due to the lower OPEX and superior product quality compared to conventional treatment technologies.

This application is also common in Chile, where certain mines, like those in the Atacama Desert, are severely short of process water for milling, crushing or flotation.  Two X-Flow references are the Sierra Gorda and Candeleria plants.  These mines desalinate sea water at the coast and then pump it to the mines which are 300 km away and lie at over 3,000m above sea level.

In the treatment of tailings water to achieve a responsible standard before discharge, X-Flow Tubular UF membranes are applied to meet discharge standards and create the possibility for re-use.

CDE Global has set up an official alliance with the world’s largest manufacturer of organic coagulants and synthetic flocculants, SNF (UK) Ltd. It says this partnership “will ultimately allow CDE to continue to provide customers with an unrivalled level of aftersales service for those who deal with solids liquid separation, foam control and waste water treatment processes.  CDE and SNF will work closely together during commissioning phase to ensure that the end user has a suitable and efficient water treatment solution on site which provides the best results possible in terms of the re-use of water following chemical treatment.”

CDE Custom Care Manager Martin Jackson comments, “For us, the customer experience is key; working together with SNF enhances this overall experience for our customers as a complete solution is now available. Our customers effectively now have a single point of contact with the comfort of knowing that CDE have taken full ownership of this responsibility. We use the latest innovative technology in terms of water treatment solutions, where we continuously look to provide our customers with world beating products. Working with a leading manufacturer of polymer is the perfect way to deliver our promise.”

By working with SNF, CDE has access to expert SNF chemists which will enable a support network to be established when dealing with issues associated to anti-foam, sludge, dosage levels etc.  The partnership will ensure that numerous samples are taken before commissioning starts, to ensure the right polymer can be recommended, with findings produced in a documented lab report. This proactive approach has proven to ensure there is no time lost during the commission phase, enabling CDE customers to turn the key on their plant at the earliest opportunity.

Following commissioning of the water treatment plant, SNF will then take additional samples to ensure that the chosen polymer is performing as it should, ensuring continuous performance monitoring to enable process optimisation at all times.

Rob Long, Industrial Business Manager at SNF comments, “We have an unrivalled understanding of customers’ requirements and through our extensive product research and development facilities, we have a continuous commitment to delivering the highest level of customer service and quality product support within the world of solid liquid separation technology.  CDE are market leaders in water treatment technology so in this respect, we are pleased to be associated with them and we look forward to helping them in delivering many successful projects in the future”.

NanoStruck Technologies says it “has a powerful suite of proprietary nano-biotechnology solutions that can transform even the most contaminated waters into pure, safe, and drinkable water for a fraction of expected costs. Nanostruck’s proprietary line of technologies is also designed to fight global water shortage problems. These technologies remove molecular sized particles using patented absorptive organic polymers.”

It explains that organic polymers “are nature’s very own sponges. These versatile biomaterials are derived from crustacean shells or plant fibres, depending on requirements of their usage. Acting as molecular sponges, the nanometer-sized polymers are custom programmed to absorb specific particles for remediation or retrieval purposes. These could be to clean out acids, hydrocarbons, pathogens, oils and toxins in water via its NanoPure solutions. Or to recover precious metal particles in mine tailings.”

After five years of intensive research and testing, NanoStruck Technologies has developed its low-cost and environmentally friendly NanoPure technology.

NanoPure brings the most contaminated water into environmental discharge/ drinking water standards. A NanoPure unit is built in a 12 m container for handling and shipment. It contains a primary precipitations and pH adjustment section (depending on the source of influent these steps are optional). There is a NanoStruck micro Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF) with high frequency ultrasonic waves. The micro bubbles introduced at the DAF are further accelerated by the ultrasound waves down to the micronic and nano levels, exponentially breaking down organic particles.

A NanoStruck electro-coagulation unit further breaks down fats, oil, grease and bio-film that produces algae. It also allows inorganics to float or to coagulate for easy removal by skimming.

NanoStruck multi-media nano-filtration further clarifies the processed water removing impurities and contaminants. Nano co-polymer removes last stage odour, remaining chemicals and improves clarity. The last stage of treatment goes through the bed of NanoStruck Nano-filtration where most unchanged particles and chemicals are adsorbed.

Additionally, with NanoMet, the technology can be used to recover precious and base metals from mine tailings. Currently, NanoStruck Technologies is designing and building systems to recover precious metals. It first performs a detailed analysis of both solid and liquid samples to determine the most efficient design using its proprietary technology and then builds to suit the application for clients.

Ecosphere Technologies, a water engineering, technology licensing and manufacturing company, has completed its first Ozonix® Ore Recovery Equipment (ORE) system for Ecosphere Mining, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, and a new Mobile Operations Vehicle (MOV) that is designed to remain on location for extended periods of time when Ecosphere is demonstrating its Ozonix® ORE system.

The patented Ecosphere Ozonix process is a revolutionary advanced oxidation process that is currently being used by customers in the oil and gas industry to reduce costs, increase treatment efficiencies and eliminate harmful chemicals from wastewater treatment operations around the US. The non-chemical Ozonix water treatment technology was proven in the oil and natural gas industry and is poised to have the same positive impact on the mining industry, the company says.

“Ecosphere Mining plans to deploy Ozonix not only to increase ore recovery rates for mine operators, but also to handle the toughest water remediation problems facing the hard rock mining industry such as acid mine drainage, tailing pond wastewater treatment and leachate treatment and recovery.”

Good AMD!

Much of the naturally occurring radioactivity in fracking wastewater might be removed by blending it with another wastewater from acid mine drainage (AMD), according to a Duke University-led study (North Carolina, USA).

“Fracking wastewater and acid mine drainage each pose well-documented environmental and public health risks. But in laboratory tests, we found that by blending them in the right proportions we can bind some of the fracking contaminants into solids that can be removed before the water is discharged back into streams and rivers,” said Avner Vengosh, Professor of Geochemistry and Water Quality at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment.

He believes this could be an effective way to treat shale hydraulic fracturing wastewater, while providing a beneficial use for AMD “that currently is contaminating waterways in much of the northeastern US.”

Blending fracking wastewater with AMD also could help reduce the depletion of local freshwater resources by giving drillers a source of usable recycled water for the hydraulic fracturing process, he added.

The peer-reviewed study was published in late December 2013 in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. Radium and Barium Removal through Blending Hydraulic Fracturing Fluids with Acid Mine Drainage, Andrew J. Kondash, Nathaniel R. Warner, Ori Lahav, Avner Vengosh. Environmental Science & Technology, Dec. 24, 2013, http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/es403852h

Vengosh and his team blended different mixtures of Marcellus Shale fracking wastewater and AMD, all of which were collected from sites in western Pennsylvania and provided to the scientists by the industry. After 48 hours, the scientists examined the chemical and radiological contents of 26 different mixtures. Geochemical modelling was used to simulate the chemical and physical reactions that had occurred after the blending; the results of the modelling were then verified using x-ray diffraction and by measuring the radioactivity of the newly formed solids.

“Our analysis suggested that several ions, including sulphate, iron, barium and strontium, as well as between 60 and 100% of the radium, had precipitated within the first 10 hours into newly formed solids composed mainly of strontium barite,” Vengosh said. These radioactive solids could be removed from the mixtures and safely disposed of at licensed hazardous-waste facilities, he said. The overall salinity of the blended fluids was also reduced, making the treated water suitable for re-use at fracking sites.

“The next step is to test this in the field. While our laboratory tests show that is it technically possible to generate recycled, treated water suitable for hydraulic fracturing, field-scale tests are still necessary to confirm its feasibility under operational conditions,” he added.