Acid Rock Drainage contributes to the pollution of mine water however the prevention of Acid Rock Drainage can be difficult and quite expensive. The best solution is often water treatment which is generally used to remove: semi metals/water toxicity, sulfates, total suspended solids, total dissolved solids, molybdenum, selenium, arsenic and ammonia.

There are many water treatment options available to mine operators or environmental managers for mine drainage and acid rock drainage. Depending on the desired water quality and the initial mine water chemistry, reverse osmosis is a viable choice and can be used to reuse water for a multitude of purposes and even to produce potable water for mine site employees.

When looking into a reverse osmosis system for mining water treatment it’s important to look at few aspects:

• Flexibility of the System: Can it adapt to any changes in TDS?
• Resistance to Scaling/Fouling: If a particular mine site is in a remote area or does not have a 24 hour operator (or even daily operator) you will want to look for a system that can resist fouling and scaling, like a CCRO system.
• Energy Use: Depending on the salinity or TDS of the water, the energy cost could be high. There are reverse osmosis systems that operate with less energy than others. Looking at reverse osmosis processes can help demonstrate.

Following these tips can help to greatly reduce the amount of maintenance and disposal costs of reverse osmosis as an active treatment. Looking to learn more about how Desalitech can help mining sites save and reuse water? Visit our water for mining info page here.