Mining

Water Treatment for Mining

Metals such as copper and lithium are critical to building towards a low-carbon future to produce solar panels, wind turbines, and batteries needed for the energy transition. Water plays a pivotal role in mining these metals. The wastewater produced from mining holds contaminants from the extraction and refining processes, which is discharged as a slurry. Efficient and sustainable water reuse and treatment is a major environmental challenge facing the mining industry, during operation and even after a site is decommissioned.

Energy Recovery provides sustainable efficiency solutions to lower the energy consumption of providing source water and treating wastewater, a process that can be highly energy-intensive due to the wastewater’s variable composition and placement in remote locations, requiring additional transportation. Reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF) systems utilizing Energy Recovery’s suite of products, including the PX^® Pressure Exchanger^®, can decrease operating costs and increase sustainability.

Mining Source Water

Many mining sites are in water-scarce regions like Chile. Seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) is a viable option for producing clean feed water, and our line of PXs can significantly reduce the energy required for production.

Acid Mine Drainage and Tailings

Leftover tailings from mine site drainage and tailing ponds can contaminate nearby bodies of water with copper, sulfate, and other toxic chemicals. Our PX solutions drastically reduce the energy consumption of RO, which can be a viable treatment solution for implementing minimal and zero liquid discharge.

Phosphoric Acid Purification

Pressure exchangers can reduce the operational costs of purifying phosphoric acid from phosphate mines with reverse osmosis or nanofiltration. Our devices offer unique solutions for operating on high-scaling waters while providing leading energy savings when treating highly concentrated streams.

Lithium Brine Mining

Lithium brine mining and direct lithium extraction is highly energy-intensive, and Energy Recovery’s line of PXs paired with membrane technology can lower the electricity, steam, and resources required to produce lithium for batteries.