Project Institute, Ural Federal University, Ekaterinburg, Russia:
M. G. Viduetskiy, Deputy Director on Science
I. F. Garifulin, Leading Researcher, e-mail: igor.garifulin@mail.ru
V. A. Maltsev, Director
A. P. Purgin, Head of Concentration Department

The technology for wastewater treatment in mining and metallurgical industry enterprises was developed on the basis of the use of residual flotation activity of effluents in the process of their saturation with finely dispersed air bubbles with formation of hydroxide-air aggregates, which also enables an effective removal of hydroxide ions into sediment. A pilot (pilot-industrial) testing of cleaning technology at the unit CFM-180 at the capacities of 15 and 18 m³/h per 1 m³ of the machine’s volume was carried out. The developed two-stage (air treatment and flotation by using CFM machines + filtration through a layer of sorbent) purification technology makes it possible to obtain purified water of the required quality. This technology can be used for cleaning mine, quarry, undercut and circulating water in enterprises of a mining complex and in non-ferrous metallurgy. During the pilot-industrial testing of the developed two-stage technology (by using the pilot unit CFM-180), performed on the mixture of undercut and mine waters at JSC “Safyanovskaya med”, purified water with a level of metals 9000–170 000 times lower than the original’s was obtained: aluminium — 0.016–0.02 mg/l, copper — 0.0043–0.0045 mg/l, zinc — 0.049–0.052 mg/l. The obtained levels are close to the standards on emission limits. When testing the technology for cleaning the circulating water in Sorin slime pond (LLC “Svyatogor”) by using the pilot plant CFM-180, purified water with a level of metals 600–900 times lower than the original’s was obtained: copper — 0.096 mg/l, zinc — 0.095 mg/l, iron — 0.52 mg/l, manganese — 0.015 mg/l, nickel — 0.065 mg/l, arsenic — 0.012 mg/l. Technological regulations are currently being developed and a plant for treating circulating water in LLC “Svyatogor” with a capacity of 1200 m³/h with respect to the initial circulating water is being designed.

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