Issue link: http://resourceworld.uberflip.com/i/581931
o c t o b e r / n o v e m b e r 2 0 1 5 www.resourceworld.com 49 MININGWORLD HAGeR+eLSAeSSeR provides water treatment for mining projects by Ellsworth Dickson Environmental stewardship is an integral part of any mining operation. However, it's not only mining companies that want to be good environmental stewards. The local community, First Nations and even finan- ciers want to make sure the operation is as safe and harmless as possible. But there is more to it than that. With water becoming scarce in some regions, tighter restrictions on consumption have been implemented; hence, technologies that manage water and wastewater treat- ment, including zero liquid discharge and closed water circuits, are becoming increasingly important. Hager+Elsaesser (H+E), an Aquarion Group company, that has been a specialist in industrial water treatment for over 80 years will now be offering solutions for the mining industry from their vast portfolio of thermal-, chemical-physical-, biological- anaerobic and biological aerob.process portfolio. Swiss-based Aquarion Group acquired H+E in July 2014. H+E has clients in other sectors needing water treatment solutions: the semi-conductor industry, sugar refining, oil & gas, municipalities, solar, paper, food & beverages and pharmaceuticals. In fact, H+E has built over 40,000 plants around the world since its inception in 1932. H+E's wastewater technologies are suit- able for treating output from mills that process a variety of minerals and metals, including gold, copper, nickel, iron ore, coal, etc. In addition, its wastewater tech- nologies can treat acid-generating mill output to render it harmless. In an interview with Martin Schappacher, Key Account Manager, in Stuttgart, Germany, Schappacher commented on various aspects of the com- pany's water treatment technologies. Resource World: The Biological Aerob technology appears to be designed to treat biodegradable waste. Does this mean that the Biological Aerob wastewater technol- ogy is referring to human organic waste from a mine or waste water output from the processing of minerals, or both? Martin Schappacher: Both. Bacteria don't care where the biodegradable waste comes from. Some restrictions exist with respect to toxic substances, but there are examples that biological treatments can even treat water containing cyanide. RW: Where do the microorganisms come from that are used in the Biological Aerob technology? MS: Usually you take some sludge from an existing plant in order to speed up the natural process. RW: Does H+E work with the engineers that design a mine's processing facilities to determine the best wastewater treatment technology? MS: Yes, as this is the best option and essential when you are thinking about recycling. RW: Is each mine's wastewater treat- ment facilities "off the shelf" or are they custom-designed for each particular mine? MS: Each mine needs an individual approach, because of size, weather condi- tions, varying ore composition, legislation aspects, etc., to name a few. However, the plant will be structured by unit opera- tions which are "off the shelf" to a certain degree and will be adapted. RW: How do H+E engineers determine the best wastewater treatment technology to use at a particular mine? Does H+E do some kind of testing of the ore? MS: The basic plant design can be derived from the individual water balance of a mine. For precise dimensioning and parameter evaluation, testing is recom- mended. Appropriate containerized units are available. RW: Are some of your wastewater technologies designed to treat and recycle water, resulting in zero discharge into the environment? MS: This is our main focus. We can rely on a proven, high-pressure, reverse osmosis technology. This enables us to drastically reduce the amount of water to be evaporated. As the evaporator is the most expensive component and a signifi- cant part of the operational cost, this leads to a significant cost cut and improved return on investment. With its affiliate, Membran Filtrations Technik (MFT), H+E has developed a new zero liquid discharge process that utilizes a series of innovative filtration and sepa- ration technologies that includes three reverse osmosis stages to reduce subse- quent evaporation and waste products to a minimum. Worldwide some 400 plant that utilize the ZLD technology are in operation. RW: Can your wastewater technolo- gies purify wastewater to drinking water standards? MS: From a technical point of view, yes. However, there are some legal aspects to be addressed. RW: Does H+E wish to seek clients with mines in any part of the world? If that is the case, do the H+E designs need to take into account local conditions in, say, a tropical jungle, a desert or in the Arctic? MS: Yes, we offer our wastewa- ter technologies worldwide with the design following the individual cus- tomer demands and requirements [in their particular locale and climate]. For example, running a biological treat- ment in the Arctic might not be an economical approach. For H+E, the holistic approach is the rule, combining legal and technical requirements that also include economics. n H+E usually offers its treatment technology in a container for better mobility. Photo courtesy Hager+Elsaesser.