Characterization and treatment of comtaminants of emerging concern in mine effluents

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This project involves three universities, one research center, and four mining industry partners, and aims at the**characterization and treatment of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in mine effluents. In the context of**this study, the CECs in mine effluents include four categories: 1) new contaminants (e.g. Mn, Se, Sb); 2)**common contaminants (e.g. As, Cu, Zn), but with very low target concentrations in sensitive environments,**such as the cold climate; 3) difficult to treat contaminants (e.g. sulfate, salinity); and 4) nitrogen compounds**(ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates). Some of these contaminants are currently monitored via aquatic toxicity**assessment. Specific discharge criteria are expected in the near future, but they would be difficult to comply**with because of the operational challenges for CECs treatment, including a complex chemistry, persistency,**requirements of oxidizing or reducing conditions, lack of a proven BATEA, and insufficient knowledge as to**the optimal efficiency conditions with mixtures of contaminants and variable effluent quality. Thus, future**priorities of mining companies in water management should: 1) improve/develop sustainable treatment**technologies for CECs; 2) limit residual salinity creation; and 3) produce stable sludge. The study, which aims**knowledge advancing on the characterization of mine effluents and performance improvement of CECs**treatment processes, is centered around 3 objectives: O1) thorough characterization of effluents from 4 active**mines for CECs identification; O2) treatment of CECs, with focus on concentration and temperature; and O3)**evaluation of aquatic toxicity, before and after treatment of actual mine effluents containing CECs. The**methodology will consist of characterization of actual effluents, followed by treatability testing with mock and**real effluents, and toxicity evaluation of the optimal performance solution. A specific goal is to develop**protocols for accurate speciation analysis and treatment of CECs. The results obtained would allow, through an**advanced understanding of the technological and environmental aspects, better potential applications on a large**scale, on the sites of the industrial partners and elsewhere in Canada. The project will train 3 PhD and 2 PDF.