Optimization of a wastewater treatment system for the mining industry

该项目旨在优化由TechnoSub开发的名为Mudwize®的废水处理系统。这项技术目前被用作采矿行业的抽水和脱水解决方案，它可以防止将大量泥浆泵送到地面。该系统由三个主要部分组成，即溶解器、混合器和沉淀池，它们都是在反复试验的基础上设计的。溶出器是一种污泥絮凝系统，含有加速固体颗粒和液体水分离的圆盘。然后，分离在混合器和溶解器中继续进行，导致每分钟分离约500加仑的废水。本文提出了一种实验和数值相结合的方法来优化这三个组分，以适应广泛的操作条件(温度、pH、流量和冰球类型)。将在舍布鲁克大学建立一个实验装置，并将结果与拉隆德金矿的数值模拟和现场测量结果进行比较。这将导致工艺和系统在几何结构和操作条件方面都得到优化。这个为期3年的项目预算为24万美元，将能够招聘3名全日制硕士学生，1名兼职研究助理和1名学士实习生。该项目的成功将改善Technosubb的经济潜力和环境影响。更广泛地说，通过更妥善地管理废水，从而防止水和土壤污染，它将减少加拿大采矿业对环境的影响。

The project aims at optimizing a wastewater treatment system, named Mudwizard®, developed by Technosub. This technology is currently used as a pumping and dewatering solution for the mining industry, which prevents the pumping of large amount of mud to the surface. The system is composed of three main parts, the dissolver, the mixer and the settling tank, all designed on a trial and error basis. The dissolver is a sludge flocculation system containing pucks to accelerate the separation of solid particles and liquid water. The separation then continues in the mixer and dissolver resulting in the separation of about 500 gallons per minute of wastewater. A combined experimental and numerical approach is proposed here to optimize these three components for a wide range of operating conditions (temperature, pH, flowrate and type of puck). One experimental set-up will be developed at Université de Sherbrooke and the results compared to both numerical simulations and on-site measurements in LaRonde gold mine. This will lead to the optimization of both the process and the system in terms of geometry and operating conditions. The budget of this 3-year project is 240 k$ and will enable to recruit three full-time master students, one part-time research assistant and one bachelor intern. The success of this project will improve the economic potential and environmental impact of Technosub. More generally, it will reduce the environmental impact of the Canadian mining industry by more properly managing wastewater and so preventing water and soil pollution.