Project duration: 1 January 2018 – 30 June 2020
Objective
SO4Control is a mine water management concept that combines environmental and economic advantages into a process concept for utilisation of internal process circulations. The concept enables significant reductions in concentrations of regulated compounds in the discharge as well as in the consumption of process chemicals. In addition, with enhanced raw material usage, substantial new income can be generated with the recovery of additional side products.
The solution (technology)
The process concept offers an innovative and sustainable way of enhancing the overall feasibility of an industrial scale operation. The solution provided is modular meaning that can be tailored depending on the need of each customer. The first module is enhanced leaching design and optimisation, which creates process solutions with a controlled amount of sulphate in the process waters and broader possibilities for additional side product recovery. The second piece is advanced membrane technologies, which enable cost-effective concentration of metal sulphates in the discharged water to be used as such or via biological sulphate reduction. The third phase is the biological sulphate reduction tailored to be very energy efficient also in the cold conditions in Scandinavia. The concept entails also the recovery of sulphur as either a commercial side product or a recyclable process chemical. The last phase is the recovery of a valuable side product from the effluent from the biological process.
Partnership
- Terrafame Group Oy, Finland (Lead Partner)
- Aalto-Korkeakoulusaatio (Aalto University), Finland
- DMT GmbH & Co. KG, Germany
- LTU Business AB, Sweden
- Miljötekniskt Center AB (MTC), Sweden
- RISE Research Institutes of Sweden Holding AB, Sweden
- Skyscape Ltd, the UK
- Spinverse Innovation Management Oy, Finland
- Sulfator Ltd, Finland
- Teknologian tutkimuskeskus VTT (Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd. VTT), Finland