MINE WATER MANAGEMENT
Osmoflo says one of its key advantages is the“ ability to provide the best technical solution, based on 25 years’ experience in specialised membrane process design, perfecting over 450 projects”
only four weeks from completion.”
Worldwide analysts, Frost and Sullivan, named PROXA the global winner of the 2017 Frost & Sullivan Award for Visionary Innovation Leadership for the work done to become one of the first companies in the world to commercialise eutectic freeze crystallisation technology for industrial use.
Last year, Osmoflo was awarded the Environmental Solutions Award by Business SA( South Australia). Osmoflo’ s international business and contribution to the state’ s trade output was celebrated at the SA Export Awards.
“ It is an honour to receive the Environmental Solutions Export Award,” Emmanuel Gayan, CEO and Managing Director of Osmoflo explained.“ It highlights Osmoflo’ s international growth and our global capability within the water treatment industry.”
Osmoflo is a progressive water treatment company that provides tailored, turnkey water and water recycling / reuse solutions across the industrial, resources and municipal sectors. With the support of major shareholder Hitachi Zosen of Japan, Osmoflo has global offices in Australia, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, South America and India. Osmoflo has evolved from a leading Australian provider to a growing global business where 30 % of its business comes from international opportunities.
Water delivery
Flowrox, supplier of heavy-duty valves, pump solutions and systems, has entered the Industrial Internet of Things( IIoT) era by bringing to market a new generation of SMART SOLUTIONS™ that offer a new way to control, operate and visualise equipment and entire facilities by means of a 3D user interface. The newest innovation is Flowrox Smart Expulse™, a pulsation dampener with a Smart option.
Pulsations can cause distractions, a common issue with several types of positive displacement pumps. Pulsations can result in annoying noise and vibrations in the process pipeline, which can potentially lead to breakages over time. Flowrox says it now offers“ the ideal solution to this problem: Flowrox Smart Expulse. This innovation will help you to achieve the dream of any plant operator – fluent processes without any distractions.
“ Flowrox Expulse is the simplest and most robust inline pulsation dampener on the market. This solution quiets the banging noise by settling up to 90 % of pressure peaks that can eventually lead to pipeline breakage. Moreover, it saves up to 10 % in pumping energy by temporarily storing it to the flexible inner hose and filler gas. The flexible construction eases system maintenance, leading to reduced downtime costs.”
The new Smart option enables accurate pressure control regardless of process changes. This prolongs system lifetime also in the most challenging conditions. Flowrox SmartCube can simultaneously control up to five Expulses, and their performance can be monitored using the Flowrox Malibu™ platform.
It is also possible to connect other process parameters and indicate values in Malibu™, which is accessible on any device with an Internet browser.
Lithium from waste waters
Large quantities of lithium continue to be discharged to waste streams emanating from the production of a range of industrial minerals. Such waste streams, which most commonly contain lithium micas, may prove the most cost-effective source of primary lithium, Lithium Australia suggests. The development of more efficient processing technologies to allow exploitation of such materials is a major achievement it has made.
In July 2017, Lithium Australia completed a preliminary feasibility study on the application of its revolutionary SiLeach ® technology to the recovery of lithium chemicals from micas. The PFS identified the water balance as a critical area for consideration. As a result innovative process steps have been developed to improve the water balance, as have processes that capitalise on the co-production of potassium sulphate, a critical step in achieving optimum financial performance.
Lithium Australia now has sufficient confidence in SiLeach to commit to developing a
large-scale pilot plant( LSPP), has approved the front-end engineering and design( FEED) and will procure long-lead equipment in an effort to reduce the time frame through to commissioning and production, currently scheduled for early 2021.
Lithium Australia expects to complete agreements during the current quarter, resulting in supply of the following. n The LSPP site n Infrastructure( power, water, gas, road and rail) n Major reagent supplies n Process feed material.
The SiLeach process involves a fluorideaccelerated sulphuric-acid leach at elevated temperature but atmospheric pressure.
Constructing and operating the LSPP is considered a necessary step in the commercialisation of SiLeach, in that it will integrate data collected on an industrial scale to evaluate the next step, which is full commercial production. The LSPP is designed to produce lithium carbonate equivalent( LCE) at an annualised rate of 2,500 t from approximately 27,500 t of lepidolite mica feed( to a maximum grade of 4.5 % Li 2O), this output being approximately one-tenth the scale of output of a full-scale commercial lithium carbonate production facility. Actual output will depend on the final feed grades achieved from a particular source, the likelihood being that locally sourced feed will be of a lower grade and produce less output than the 2,500 t design capacity.
While the primary aim of the LSPP is to produce lithium chemicals, production of byproducts is also integral to its development. Potentially, by-products like potassium sulphate( K 2SO 4), sodium silicate( Na 2SiO 3), caesium( Cs) and rubidium( Rb) can also be produced using the process.
Lithium Australia ' s Managing Director Adrian Griffin commented:“ Our commitment to advancing the SiLeach process to an industrial scale is a critical element in the research and development required to bring a superior process into the lithium industry. Success will allow us to utilise mine waste in the production of lithium chemicals, one of our great sustainability goals.”
Last year, Purlucid Treatment Solutions completed a 1,000 litre / d petrolithium extraction and water treatment system. The system is used for large scale testing of bulk water samples from MGX Minerals’ petrolithium projects including Sturgeon Lake, Alberta and Paradox Basin, Utah as well as customers and partners prior to deployment of commercial systems. The system produces concentrated lithium chloride samples.
The process relies on advanced nanomaterials used in conjunction with nanoflotation technologies.
48 International Mining | MARCH 2018