MGX Minerals and engineering partner PurLucid Treatment Solutions have reported a second deployment of an advanced wastewater treatment system is near completion and commissioning is expected shortly.

The system is capable of processing up to 10 m³/h and will significantly reduce greenhouse gases through energy savings on steam generation, according to MGX.

“The technology provides superior treatment outcomes when compared to conventional technology which requires offsite trucking and high cost (due to toxicity) disposal,” MGX said, adding the technology can treat the water in line, under temperature and pressure, without cooling water first. This is a paradigm shift advancement in waste water management and oilsands operations, according to the company.

“This will result in significantly less energy use for water treatment, reduction in greenhouse gases and also eliminate a major operational challenge of a steam assisted gravity drainage facility – heat exchanger fouling.

Mobilisation of a third system, capable of processing 10 m³/h to extract lithium from brine, is also being finalised, MGX said. This lithium can be extracted by the technology once the water is cleaned of oil and bitumen as result of the front-end water treatment system processing. Commencement of lithium extraction will occur as this customer comes online.

MGX’s rapid lithium extraction technology eliminates or greatly reduces the physical footprint and investment in large, multi-phase, lake-sized, lined evaporation ponds, as well as enhances the quality of extraction and recovery across a complex range of brines as compared with traditional solar evaporation, the company says.

It is applicable to petrolithium (oil and gas wastewater), natural brine, and other brine sources such as a lithium-rich mine and industrial plant wastewater.

Back in August, after several successful pilot test results, the company signed up Hatch to advise it on the scaling up of its technology in the western US.

PurLucid’s exclusively licensed and patented nanoflotation technology, meanwhile, is designed specifically for oil field environments, separating impurities from oil and gas wastewater and producing clean water as a final product.

Last month, the two companies reported successful commissioning of their commercial scale 5 m³/h system.