Tag Archives: Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Solutions

Watson-Marlow brings higher flows to Qdos pump offering

Environmental, Mining services, Water management, , ,

Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Solutions (WMFTS) has launched the Qdos™ H-FLO chemical metering and dosing pump, designed specifically for higher flow rates up to 600 litres per hour.

Qdos H-FLO delivers the same outstanding accuracy and reliability as other Qdos pumps but for higher flow rates with a variety of pumpheads and a range of different tube material to ensure chemical compatibility with the process fluid, the company claims. It offers flexibility to be scalable with a customer’s process, whether it is in water and wastewater treatment, mining and mineral processing, chemical applications in food and beverage or pulp and paper.

The release of Qdos H-FLO enhances the range of Qdos pumps by offering flow rates up to 600 l/h and pressure capability up to 7 bar (102 psi). The pump also comes with RFID Pumphead detection to ensure confirmation of correct pumphead; a revolution counter for pumphead service maintenance; leak detection and fluid containment to prevent spills and chemical exposure upon pumphead expiry; network integration, control and communication options include EtherNet/IP, PROFINET and PROFIBUS for easy integration with SCADA/PLC; and one common pump drive with several pumphead options for changing process conditions and chemistries.

Like the rest of the Qdos range of peristaltic pumps, Qdos H-FLO cuts costs through higher precision chemical metering, with an accuracy of ±1% and repeatability of ±0.5% in dosing, WMFTS says.

Applications for the pump include flocculants, acids/alkalis and mining reagents.

Adeel Hassan, Product Manager at WMFTS, said: “The high accuracy and repeatability of our pumps helps to achieve cost savings in chemical usage which also assists our customers in their journey towards net-zero targets. While the pump has inherited unique features from the current Qdos range, it also brings several new-to-market features to make chemical dosing simpler, safer and cost-effective.

“Customer feedback has been a fundamental driver in developing Qdos for higher flow rate applications. Qdos H-FLO aims to make chemical dosing simpler and efficient for operations, maintenance and EHS teams. It offers several onboard communication options for SCADA and PLC integration to achieve process optimisation.”

The Qdos H-FLO is supported with an optional pressure sensing kit that provides real-time pressure monitoring, which ensures process security and improves safety. The optional pressure sensing kit comes with configurable alarms for process monitoring.

Bredel, Qdos peristaltic pumps help decontaminate mine water at Cornish Metals’ new water treatment plant

Energy minerals, Mine operation news, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, Sustainable mining, Water management, , , , ,

Cornish Metals Inc is using eight Bredel 40 hose pumps and three Qdos chemical metering and dosing pumps from Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Solutions (WMFTS) in its newly opened water treatment plant (WTP) at the South Crofty tin mine in Cornwall, England.

South Crofty ceased producing tin in 1998 but Cornish Metals is working to reopen it, aiming to reinstate production by 2026. Before Cornish Metals can begin extracting tin, it must dewater the flooded mine and treat 8 million cu.m of contaminated water so that it meets standards set by the Environment Agency. The treated, clean water is then discharged into the nearby Red River at a rate of up to 25,000 cu.m/d.

As part of the process to decontaminate water pumped out of the underground tin mine, the Bredel pumps are used for transferring sludge, while the Qdos pumps are dosing hydrogen peroxide to oxidise the contaminated metals in the mine water at the WTP. Cornish Metals expects the dewatering of South Crofty to take 18 months.

Qdos is accurately dosing hydrogen peroxide during the cleaning of the contaminated mine water, to oxidise the metals and cause iron and arsenic to precipitate out of the solution, in the first of five process steps at the WTP. Bredel hose pumps provide the process with reliable, low maintenance and contained transfer of thick sludge – containing contaminants such as iron, manganese and arsenic – which is separated from the treated water in stages two and four. The Bredel hose pumps are transferring sludge out from the lamella clarifier into a tank, where the sludge is thickened, and then pumping the thickened sludge to another tank from where it is transported to a nearby site for underground storage.

Steven Kingstone, South Crofty Project Manager at Cornish Metals, said: “We are lucky in Cornwall to have a number of suppliers such as Watson-Marlow, producing high quality equipment that we can utilise in the reconstruction of South Crofty mine. This highlights the importance that we place on buying local where we can, which ensures that the reopening of South Crofty benefits the local population and economy as much as possible. As the site develops, we look forward to continuing to work with Watson-Marlow.”

Bredel and Qdos pumps, from WMFTS, are contributing to the WTP’s goal of minimising South Crofty’s impact on the local environment, according to the company. Before start-up of the WTP in October 2023, the Red River received untreated mine water as a legacy of past mining activities.

A cleaner and healthier Red River will benefit people, wildlife and the local economy, WMFTS says. Also, the water discharged from South Crofty powers a hydro-turbine that generates up to 15% of the power consumed by the WTP.

Bredel hose pumps accommodate continuous flow rates up to 108 cu.m/h and are extremely durable (pressures up to 16 bar), WMFTS says. There are no internal universal joints, valves, dead corners or glands to impact flow, and they are reversible for back-flushing. Bredel hose pumps can handle undiluted mine water, tailings and thickener underflow with up to 80% solids.

Pumps like those in the Bredel range are virtually maintenance-free, according to the manufacturer, as there are no impellers, liners or mechanical seals to replace, no check valves to clog and no rotors or stators to wear out. The only wear part is the hose, which can be replaced in a matter of minutes with no special tools, it says.

Qdos pumps are also low maintenance – reducing the impact of process downtime and lowering the overall cost of ownership – while providing accurate, linear and repeatable chemical metering across all process conditions, it says. Chemical costs can be reduced by higher accuracy metering, with flow rates that remain constant from 0.1 to 2,000 mL/min at up to 7 bar.

Watson-Marlow pumps perform at Cornish Lithium Shallow Geothermal Test Site

Automation, Energy minerals, Mineral processing, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , , , , , , , ,

Five 500 series cased peristaltic pumps from Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Solutions are playing an important role in a demonstration plant at Cornish Lithium’s Shallow Geothermal Test Site in the UK.

Originally built to test the concept of extracting lithium from geothermal waters, Cornish Lithium is now working on an upgraded version of the test plant as its drilling program expands, ultimately with the aim of developing an efficient, sustainable and cost-effective lithium extraction supply chain.

The initial enquiry for pumps came from GeoCubed, a joint venture between Cornish Lithium and Geothermal Engineering Ltd (GEL). GEL owns a deep borehole site at United Downs in Cornwall where plans are in place to commission a £4 million ($5.2 million) pilot plant.

“GeoCubed’s process engineers helped us to design and commission the test plant ahead of the G7, which would run on shallow geothermal waters extracted from Cornish Lithium’s own research boreholes,” Dr Rebecca Paisley, Exploration Geochemist at Cornish Lithium, said.

Adam Matthews, Exploration Geologist at Cornish Lithium, added: “Our shallow site centres on a borehole that we drilled in 2019. A special borehole pump [not Watson-Marlow] extracts the geothermal water [mildly saline, lithium-enriched water] and feeds into the demonstration processing plant.”

The five Watson-Marlow 530SN/R2 pumps serve two different parts of the test plant, the first of which extracts lithium from the waters by pumping the brine from a container up through a column containing a large number of beads.

“The beads have an active ingredient on their surface that is selective for lithium,” Paisley explained. “As water is pumped through the column, lithium ions attach to the beads. With the lithium separated, we use two Watson-Marlow 530s to pump an acidic solution in various concentrations through the column. The acid serves to remove lithium from the beads, which we then transfer to a separate container.

“The pumps are peristaltic, so nothing but the tube comes into contact with the acid solution.”

She added: “We’re using the remaining 530 series pumps to help understand what other by-products we can make from the water. For instance, we can reuse the water for secondary processes in industry and agriculture. For this reason, we have two other columns working in unison to strip all other elements from the water as we pump it through.”

According to Matthews, flow rate was among the primary reasons for selecting Watson-Marlow pumps.

“The column needed a flow rate of 1-2 litres per minute to fit with our test scale, so the 530 pumps were ideal,” he says. “The other consideration was choosing between manual or automated pumps. At the time, because it was bench scale, we went for manual, as we knew it would be easy to make adjustments while we were still experimenting with process parameters. However, any future commercial lithium extraction system would of course take advantage of full automation.

Paisley added: “The great thing about having these five pumps is that we can use them to help evaluate other technologies moving forward. Lithium extraction from the type of waters we find in Cornwall is not undertaken anywhere else in the world on any scale – the water chemistry here is unique.

“It is really important for us to undertake on-site test work with a variety of different companies and technologies. We want to devise the most environmentally responsible solution using the optimum lithium recovery method, at the lowest possible operating cost. Using local companies is part of our strategy, particularly as continuity of supply is vital.”

To help fulfil the requirements of the next test plant, Cornish Lithium has enquired after more 530SN/R2 pumps from Watson-Marlow.

“We’ve also requested a quote for a Qdos 120 dosing pump from Watson-Marlow, so we can add a certain amount of acid into the system and achieve pH balance,” Matthews says. “We’ll be doing more drilling in the coming 12 months, which will allow us to test our technology on multiple sites.”