Wetlands for wastewater treatment sludge
BE CIRCULAR, BE EFFECTIVE: STOP SENDING SLUDGE TO THE LANDFILL
Wetlands for wastewater treatment sludge
BE CIRCULAR, BE EFFECTIVE: STOP SENDING SLUDGE TO THE LANDFILL
Wetlands for wastewater treatment sludge
BE CIRCULAR, BE EFFECTIVE: STOP SENDING SLUDGE TO THE LANDFILL
WETLANDS COURSES
Mining wastewater treatment: balancing business and environmental safety with solutions compatible with the mining environment.
Systems compatible with the reality and the future of mining:
Each water source is a unique engineering project.
We work with systems that guarantee stability by combining passive and active processes , to meet the major challenges of mining water: variations in loads and flows, complex geochemistry, operational restrictions, and high environmental risk.
A profound alteration of the soil-water relationship is inherent to any type of mining process.
Structures such as open-pit mines, underground mines, waste rock piles, and tailings dams generate drainage water laden with sediment, trace metals, and other chemical elements that need to be controlled to avoid impacting water resources.
Yes, water has a signature! And every water has its own!
The geochemical characteristics and the variation in the hydraulic regimes of these waters are as broad and complex as the types of structures and mineral bodies from which they originate.
In other words, there is no standard solution.
Given the specific characteristics of these waters, a specific approach is also necessary.
We create treatment arrangements compatible with the realities of the mining environment, integrating geochemistry and sanitary engineering. Our engineering is not limited to a single technology. Because what matters is the compatibility of the treatment processes with the local reality, the water signature, and the operational requirements.
Choosing a treatment process that is technically robust, operationally simple, and economically advantageous is crucial to ensuring business security and long-term sustainability.
Our team of experts integrates the most advanced technologies in passive mining wastewater treatment with classic water treatment systems, developing projects that balance economic viability, technical excellence, and business safety.
Mining is water
And we are aware of the challenges of water and wastewater management in mining.
Wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) operations with flow rates up to 30 L/s present very particular challenges. Our work focuses on bringing sustainability to these operations, with tailored technological arrangements, emphasizing simplification and circularity.
Applications and Products
Solutions that integrate geochemistry, environmental engineering, and people.
Drainage water
mine, dewatering and outcrop
Effluents from beneficiation processes or from washing areas or structures
Drainage water
of tailings dams
Drainage Water
Acid Mining (AM)
Drainage water
of piles of sterile and reject material
Contaminated groundwater
Soluções e PRODUTOS
Our solutions are based on a balance between circular economy and operational profitability, exploring the potential of wetland technology and traditional treatment arrangements to bring technical, economic, and socio-environmental coherence to operations.
Systems for removing metals, metalloids and other inorganic elements.
Chemistry is no secret. It's an exact science! And the removal of metals (iron and manganese, for example) or other inorganic elements from mining waters won't happen if we don't respect the elementary principles of chemistry. Oxidation, pH correction, sedimentation, filtration, adsorption. They seem simple. But for this apparent simplicity to work, it's necessary to position the unit operations in a logical sequence and size the reactors according to the specific conditions of each hydrograph.
There are several techniques and processes for removing metals from mining waters. They all work! The point isn't whether they work or not... The point is to make them work in the long term! With routines and operational costs compatible with the reality of mining. And that's the challenge our team specializes in.
The technological setup (sequence of unit operations and reactors) is crucial for the long-term success of the operation. And in the mining environment, where water flow rates and characteristics vary enormously, simplistic imports of prefabricated systems are not viable... A customized approach is needed, developing systems tailored to each situation.
System for removing hydrocarbons and emulsified oil.
Treating wastewater containing surfactants and oil is a challenge in virtually all mining operations. For this type of wastewater, simply using an oil-water separator (OWS) is insufficient, as the oil is emulsified in the water by the use of surfactants and degreasers. OWS only separate free oil, but the soap causes the oil to dissolve in the water and not be removed by the OWS. Therefore, a filtration and/or degradation system for this emulsion is necessary. These waters also contain a large volume of settleable solids (sludge), which need to be removed before OWS. Another complication is the large variations in flow rate, requiring buffer and equalization tanks.
To deal with these facts, our systems employ a set of processes ordering the unit operations in a specifically designed sequence.
Systems for treating acid mine drainage
Acid mine drainage, whether through percolation via waste and tailings piles or through water seepage in underground mines, is a critical challenge for mining operations.
The first step is to understand the hydraulic regime of formation of these waters. Each type of structure will result in a volume of water and a hydrograph. The second step is to understand the chemical composition of these waters, which will depend on the geochemical signature of the massif through which the water percolated. Minerals such as Pyrrhotite (FeS), Chalcopyrite (CuFeS2), Arsenopyrite (FeAsS), Galena (PbS), and Sphalerite (ZnS) will leave their respective signatures in the drainage waters. Common to all these waters are quite low pH values (on the order of 3.0 – 4.0) in addition to high concentrations of Iron and Sulfate. From this understanding, the stream to be treated is defined, and it is possible to begin developing the specific treatment route for each situation. It is worth mentioning that a statistical analysis of the available monitoring data is always recommended, but there are situations where the structures do not exist and there is no data available for the project, making it necessary to adopt references from similar waters or leaching tests.
However, the biggest challenge in these cases is not simply returning clean water to nature. The challenge is keeping this structure functioning well over time. Especially during the decommissioning period, when there are no more operations on site, but the structure continues to generate acidic water indefinitely. Therefore, the strategy for defining the best treatment route must be a well-developed step.
Systems for sediment and turbidity control
Mining inherently causes profound alterations to the soil cover. The removal of soil cover results in the erosion of sediments through surface drainage.
The challenge for sediment control in surface drainage waters in mining areas lies in the large volumes and varying flow rates, which are linked to the hydrological regime.
The first step in designing a treatment system is to understand the flow hydrograph and establish the hydrological, statistical, and hydraulic criteria that form the basis of the project.
The phenomena governing sediment and turbidity removal are related to particle diameter and their stability in the liquid. In short, some particles can be removed by simple sedimentation. In these cases, the particle diameter determines its sedimentation velocity, which in turn determines the surface area of a sedimentation basin, for example, as a function of an influent flow rate. There are other cases where the particles are in colloidal form and require a chemical element to destabilize their bonds with water in order to allow sedimentation. The most common method, widely used in water treatment for supply, for example, is to combine these phenomena, with the dosing of chemical reagents for coagulation and flocculation, followed by sedimentation steps and a final filtration step.
However, in mining environments, the use of traditional water treatment plants is generally impractical due to the operational and economic viability of these structures.
That's why our approach is to design tailor-made processes, adjusting the various treatment techniques.
Consulting services for diagnosis and improvement in treatment plants.
Development of specific routes (R&D)
Treatability trials
Assisted operation and outsourcing of operation
