RemTech application in mining: Use of biopolymer for the treatment of acid drainage effluent from tailings piles.

In the conventional treatment of mining effluents, lime is widely used as an alkalizing agent, and other chemical reagents such as coagulants and flocculants are also used in conjunction with it, with the aim of precipitating heavy metals and meeting the parameters established by legislation.

RemTech, being an alkalizing and oxidizing biopolymer, has the power to raise the pH of effluents and also carry out oxidation-reduction reactions with metals present in them, helping in efficient treatment, in order to meet the parameters established by legislation, completely replacing lime and enabling the reduction of other reagents used in the process. Another outstanding advantage for the use of RemTech in this type of application would be the reduction in the volume of sludge generated at the end of precipitation, compared to lime, being possible to reduce up to 33% of the final sludge volume.

Below is a case study of the treatment of a gold mining effluent with RemTech:

Image 01: Comparative photos of effluent treatment with lime (test tube on the left) and effluent treatment with RemTech (test tube on the right).

Analyzing the photos above, it is possible to observe that the settling speed of suspended solids is greater in the presence of RemTech, in addition to the reduction in the volume of sludge formed at the end.

Regarding the comparison with the dosages of alkalizing agents (ExtracTech lime), it is possible to have a reduction of up to 20x in the dosage when using RemTech. Below is a comparative graph of alkalizing agent dosage X pH.

It is possible to observe that, to reach a pH of 8.0, for example, a dosage close to 0.03 Kg/m3 of RemTech is necessary versus 0.15 Kg/m3 of lime, that is, a dosage 5 times lower using RemTech in order to reach the same pH.

Author: Roberta Carvalho