Comprehensive investigation of mine-impacted water treatment using cryo-purification: Bench-scale and pilot-scale stages with the aid of artificial intelligence application

该提案涉及与行业合作伙伴Core Geoscience Services Inc.(育空的怀特霍斯)密切合作，对环境友好、节能、经济可行的冷冻技术(冷冻净化)进行全面调查和测试，以修复受地雷影响的水。冷冻净化的应用，特别是在可以利用北方气候寒冷温度条件的地区，可能是一种可行的水处理解决方案。考虑到五个最大的联邦污染地点中的三个--Faro矿、Giant矿和Columac矿--位于育空地区和西北地区，需要进行水处理，加拿大北部特别令人感兴趣。这项技术的应用(可以有效地去除水溶液中的无机和有机污染物)尤其有利于育空原住民社区以具有成本效益和易于使用的方式解决缺乏安全、清洁的家庭用水的问题。Faro矿是加拿大育空地区遗留的废弃矿，现在由加拿大政府负责管理和减轻对环境的影响。我们团队使用一系列冷冻净化技术(在之前的2020-2021年NSERC联盟和Mitacs Accelerate支持的项目内)从受矿山影响的水(加拿大育空地区的Faro矿)中去除锌的实验室测试和数学建模的初步研究和最新结果，为进一步的后续阶段提供了坚实的基础，包括试验台和中试规模测试。将使用的方法将实验室测试、数据分析、实验室和中试阶段的数学建模与人工智能应用相结合。这一方法，再加上行业合作伙伴Coregeo和西方大学之间的密切合作，最大限度地增加了项目成功的机会，并最终导致在未来几年内在矿场或工业场址实现低温净化的商业化和应用。

The proposal deals with comprehensive investigation and testing of an environmental-friendly, energy-efficient, economically feasible freezing technology (cryo-purification) for mine-impacted water remediation in close collaboration with industry partner, Core Geoscience Services Inc. (Whitehorse, Yukon). The application of cryo-purification, especially in the locations where northern climates' cold temperature conditions can be utilized could be a viable water treatment solution. Northern Canada is of special interest considering that three of the five largest federal contaminated sites - Faro Mine, Giant Mine and Colomac Mine - are located within Yukon and Northwest Territories, where water treatment is required. The application of this technology (which can be effective for the removal of both inorganic and organic contaminants from aqueous solutions) could be particularly beneficial for Yukon First Nations (YFN) communities to address the lack of access to safe, clean household water in a cost-effective and easy-to-use manner. The Faro Mine is a legacy abandoned mine in Yukon, Canada, that is now the responsibility of the Government of Canada to manage and mitigate environmental impacts. Our team's initial study and recent results on laboratory testing and mathematical modeling for the removal of zinc from the mine-impacted water (Faro Mine, Yukon, Canada) using a range of cryo-purification techniques (within the previous 2020-2021 NSERC Alliance and Mitacs Accelerate-supported projects) provide a solid foundation for further successive stages, including bench and pilot-scale testing. The approach to be used combines laboratory testing, data analysis, mathematical modeling within bench- and pilot-scale stages with the aid of artificial intelligence application. This approach, together with close collaboration between the industry partner CoreGeo and Western University maximize the chances of project success and ultimately lead to the commercialization and application of cryo-purification at mine sites, or industrial sites, in the coming years.