Study of the Feasibility of Reverse Osmosis Membrane Process for Selenium Removal and Water Reuse of Mine Water in Cold Climates

考虑到采矿活动对水资源的综合利用，大量的污染废水可能含有高浓度的硒酸盐和亚硒酸盐。即使在石灰沉淀后，作为常规处理方法，硒浓度也大于200 µg.L-1。为了解决这一问题，人们广泛研究了不同的化学、生物和物理方法，如沉淀、离子交换、电凝聚和零价铁，但没有一种是经济可行的。此外，未来的法规将迫使采矿业减少对周围环境的有害影响。事实上，水的再利用将是实现零废物采矿的一种有趣且经济上可行的方法。反渗透是一个有吸引力的选择，它可以满足这两个要求。在这种情况下，Thetis Environmental开发了新一代反渗透（RO）技术，能够将高含盐量的矿物质有效分离成纯水渗透液和浓盐水。由于他们与其他工业部门合作，调查包括采矿部门在内的其他市场对公司来说非常有利。为此，他们倾向于与CTRI合作，以证明和验证其RO技术在矿山废水中除硒的效率，特别是在寒冷气候下。为了在给定的期限内实现项目目标，该项目将受益于多学科团队和可操作的研发基础设施;在给定的期限内实现项目目标的基本要素

Considering versatile utilization of water in mining activities, huge amount of contaminated effluent that may contain high selenate and selenite concentration in mine effluent. Even after lime precipitation, as a conventional treatment method, selenium concentration is more than 200 µg.L-1. In order to resolve this problem, different chemical, biological and physical process such as, precipitation, ion exchange, electro-coagulation and zero valent iron have been widely investigated, yet, none of them is economically feasible. Furthermore, future regulations trend to force mine industry to reduce detrimental effect on the surrounding environment. Indeed, water reuse will be an interesting and economically viable approach toward zero-waste mining. Reverse osmosis is an attractive option, which could meet both of those requirements. In this context, Thetis Environmental has developed a new generation of reverse osmosis (RO) capable of effective separation of high salt content minerals into pure water permeate and concentrated brine. As they are collaborating with other industrial sectors, investigating other markets including mine sector is very promoting for the company. For this attempt, they tend to collaborate with the CTRI to demonstrate and validate the efficiency of their RO technology for selenium removal in mine effluents especially in cold climate. For achieving the project's objectives within the given deadlines, this project will be profited from a multidisciplinary team and an operational R&D infrastructure; essential ingredients for achieving the project's objectives within the given deadlines