RESUMEN
The performance of electroflotation (EF) is strongly influenced by the size of O2 and H2 bubbles. Therefore, in this study, the bubble sizes are measured in a lab-scale EF cell using a high-speed camera. The mean bubble size is found to vary in the range of 32.7-68.6 µm under different operating conditions. This study shows that the electrode material, current density, water pH, ionic strength, and frother (Tennafroth 250) concentration are important factors in controlling the bubble size. Furthermore, four mathematical distributions (normal, log-normal, Weibull, and gamma distributions) are fitted to the experimental data, among which the log-normal distribution is found to be the best fit based on the lower Anderson-Darling (AD) value.
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Técnicas Electroquímicas , Agua/química , ElectrodosRESUMEN
This paper studies the changes in thermal conductivity, temperature, and unconfined compressive strength of gold tailings and fly ash mixtures during the curing period of 5 days. The microfabric of the cured mixtures was investigated with mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP). The mixture samples were prepared at their maximum dry unit weight and optimum moisture content. Effect of adding fly ash to gold tailings (i.e., 0, 20, and 40% of the dry weight of tailings) was examined, and a comparison was made on samples prepared at the same fly ash content by replacing gold tailings with humic acid (i.e., gold tailings and humic acid ratios of 100:0, 90:10, and 80:20 by weight) or by varying pore fluid chemistry (i.e., water and salt solutions of 1M NaCl and CaCl2). The results show that the initial thermal conductivity of the samples is sensitive to the mixture proportion and a declination in the thermal conductivity is observed due to hydration of fly ash and evaporation. Inclusion of fly ash and salts into gold tailings improves the unconfined compressive strength but the presence of humic acid in samples leads to the decrease of the strength. MIP results reveal the pore structure changes associated with the packing states of the samples that reflect the influential factors considered.
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Ceniza del Carbón , Oro/químicaRESUMEN
Oxidation of reactive mine tailings and subsequent generation of acid mine drainage (AMD) have been long recognized as the largest environmental concern for the mining industry. Laboratory studies on utilization of coal fly ash in management of reactive mine tailings have shown reducing water and oxygen infiltration into tailings matrix, thus preventing oxidation of sulphide minerals and acid generation. However, few data from field studies to evaluate the performance of co-placement of mine tailings and fly ash (CMF hereafter) are reported in the open literature. This paper documents the construction and instrumentation of three CMF systems on the Musselwhite mine located in Ontario, Canada and presents results of 3-year real time monitoring. The field data indicates that the CMFs reduced the ingress of water due to cementation generated by hydration of fly ash. It was also found that the electrical conductivity of leachate from CMFs decreased in the early stage of co-placement, compared to the control. With further study, the principle and approach demonstrated in this paper can be adopted as a sustainable technology in the mine tailings management.
Asunto(s)
Ceniza del Carbón/química , Minería , Contaminación del Agua/prevención & control , Estudios de Factibilidad , Minerales/química , Ontario , Oxígeno/química , Proyectos Piloto , Sulfuros/química , Agua/químicaRESUMEN
A sample preparation method for percentage recovery of total sulphur (%S) in reactive mine tailings based on ultrasound-assisted digestion (USAD) and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) was developed. The influence of various methodological factors was screened by employing a two-level and three-factor (2(3)) full factorial design and using KZK-1, a sericite schist certified reference material (CRM), to find the optimal combination of studied factors and %S. Factors such as the sonication time, temperature and acid combination were studied, with the best result identified as 20 min of sonication, 80°C temperature and 1 ml of HNO(3):1 ml of HCl, which can achieve 100% recovery for the selected CRM. Subsequently a fraction of the 2(3) full factorial design was applied to mine tailings. The percentage relative standard deviation (%RSD) for the ultrasound method is less than 3.0% for CRM and less than 6% for the mine tailings. The investigated method was verified by X-ray diffraction analysis. The USAD method compared favorably with existing methods such as hot plate assisted digestion method, X-ray fluorescence and LECO™-CNS method.
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Residuos Industriales/análisis , Minería , Azufre/análisis , Ácido Clorhídrico/química , Ácido Nítrico/química , SonicaciónRESUMEN
A site-specific study is carried out to assess the suitability of froth flotation for desulphurization of reactive mine tailings at the Musselwhite Mine, Northern Ontario, Canada, to prevent acid mine drainage (AMD). The results from pilot scale flotation tests on an Outokumpu flotation unit are presented, which confirm that froth flotation is effective to reduce sulphide contents of tailings. The factors affecting the treatment effectiveness, such as the froth depth, air flow rate, pulp density and impeller speed are studied. The sulphur recoveries after 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 5, and 12 min of flotation time are fitted to a second-order kinetic model. It is found that the second order rate constant, k(2) is negatively correlated with the froth depth and positively correlated with the air flow rate. Based on the data presented in this study; the maximum recovery of total sulphur was achieved when the operational parameters were set to the froth depth of 5 cm, air flow rate 125 L/min, impeller speed 1300 rpm and pulp density 35%.
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Contaminantes Ambientales/química , Minería , Eliminación de Residuos/métodos , Azufre/química , Contaminantes Ambientales/análisis , Cinética , Ontario , Azufre/análisisRESUMEN
The oxidation of sulphidic mine tailings and consequent acid generation poses challenges for the environment. Accurate and precise analysis of sulphur content is necessary for impact assessment and management of mine tailings. Here, the authors aim at developing a rapid and easy digestion procedure, which may analyse and measure the total amount of sulphur in mine tailings by using inductively coupled plasma. For evaluating effects of several variables, the researchers used a univariate (analysis of variance (ANOVA)) strategy and considered factors such as composition of the acid mixture, heating time, and refluxing device to optimize the performance. To do the experiment, the researchers have used two certified reference materials (KZK-1 and RTS-2) and samples of tailings from Musselwhite mine. ANOVA result shows that heating time is the most influencing factor on acid digestion of the reference materials whereas in case of a digestion of tailings sample, hydrochloric acid proved to be the most significant parameter. Satisfactory results between the measured and referenced values are found for all experiments. It is found that the aqua regia (1 ml HNO(3) + 3 ml HCl) digestion of 0.1 g of samples after only 40 min of heating at 95°C produced fast, safe, and accurate analytical results with a recovery of 97% for the selected reference materials.
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Monitoreo del Ambiente/métodos , Contaminantes del Suelo/análisis , Azufre/análisis , Minería , Contaminantes del Suelo/química , Espectrofotometría Atómica , Azufre/químicaRESUMEN
This study presents the results of a laboratory investigation conducted to evaluate the efficiency of coal fly ash to control the formation of acid mine drainage (AMD) from mine waste. Site-specific materials, coal fly ash from Atikokan Thermal Generating Station and mine tailings from Musselwhite mine, were mixed at different proportions for the investigation of the drainage chemistry and the optimal mix using static testing (acid-base accounting) and kinetic (column) testing. The acid-base accounting (ABA) results indicated that the fly ash possessed strong alkaline (neutralization) potential (NP) and could be used in the management of reactive mine tailings, thus ensuring prevention of AMD in the long-term. Column tests conducted in the laboratory to further investigate long-term performance of fly ash in the neutralization and prevention of acid mine drainage from tailings similarly showed that mixing fly ash with mine tailings reduces dissolution of many heavy metals from tailings by providing alkalinity to the system. It was found that a fly ash to tailings mass ratio equal to or greater than 15% can effectively prevent AMD generation from Musselwhite mine tailings in the co-placement approach.