Treatment of pit water from a quarry

In order to guarantee the continued operation of one of its French sites, a major mining and quarrying operator asked CTP environnement to manage its pit water. This water needed to be treated before being discharged in a sensitive area (Natura 2000). Acid and high concentration in suspended solid was the main concerns.

CTP environnement developed a treatment solution, which was both mobile and easy to install, tailored to the site’s issue (no industrial or mains water) and needing very little operation.

The Neutramobil^® Plus unit’s features:

• Automated pH correction/neutralization to find the best techno-economic balance between the compliance of discharges and reagent consumption,
• Sludge flocculation with a treatment level dictated by turbidity measurements, with a flocculation reagent selected from a wide range (lab tests results),
• Sludge dewatering using two 300 m³ (392 yd³) geotextile membranes (filling monitored by a pressure sensor).
• Storage/recycling of treated water from these geotextile membranes for preparation of the flocculating agent, with quality control of the water by turbidity monitoring.

The unit is controlled 24/7 by a PLC, which automatically triggers cleaning as soon as water is detected in the quarry and produces reports in a format based on the client’s standards.

By combining preliminary studies, excellent cooperation between those involved, continuous operation and technical support, with employee training, the schedule and commitments were adhered to:

• Total compliance with environmental standards: treated effluent ready to be discharged into the natural environment,
• Safe and secure storage of matter, allowing for staggered removal depending on availability and the client’s requirements.