Electrokinetic Studies of Mine Tailings Considering Dewatering and Mass Transport at the Miduk Copper Mine, SE Iran

The effect of the electrokinetic process on the extraction of trapped water was evaluated in the Miduk copper mine’s tailings slurry. The effect of the dewatering process on copper removal was also studied. The initial electroosmotic permeability was determined using a one-dimensional cell. In the n...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Mine water and the environment Vol. 40; no. 4; pp. 847 - 863
Main Authors:	Shafaei, Foojan, Doulati Ardejani, Faramarz, Bahroudi, Abbas, Yavarzade, Mohamad, Amini, Aliasghar
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-12-2021 Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:	Average flow Chemical composition Copper Dewatering Earth and Environmental Science Earth Sciences Ecotoxicology Efficiency Electric potential Electrokinetics Energy Energy consumption Flow rates Geology Hydrogeology Industrial Pollution Prevention Kinetics Mass transport Mathematical analysis Mine tailings Mine wastes Mineral Resources Mineralogy Mining Moisture content Permeability pH effects Polarity Slurries Tailings Technical Article Voltage Water Water content Water Quality/Water Pollution Iran Energy consumption Electrochemical remediation Water extraction Copper mine tailings
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	The effect of the electrokinetic process on the extraction of trapped water was evaluated in the Miduk copper mine’s tailings slurry. The effect of the dewatering process on copper removal was also studied. The initial electroosmotic permeability was determined using a one-dimensional cell. In the next step, the effect of voltage and polarity reversal was evaluated for three scenarios: T1 (2 V/cm), T2 (2 V/cm), and T3 (1 V/cm). In addition, the polarity reversal method was applied to T2 and T3. To compare the amount of water extraction and energy consumption, three indices were considered and calculated: index of dry tone, water extraction, and normal water extraction. Moreover, the effect of electrokinetics on the final moisture content, physicochemical variation, and chemical composition were investigated. The results indicated that the calculated electroosmotic permeability ranged from 1.23 × 10 –9 to 1.36 × 10 –9 m 2 /V·S, which is acceptable for electrokinetic experiments. The water extraction experiments showed average flow rates of 1.68, 1.84, and 1.73 mL/h in T1, T2, and T3, respectively. The maximum amount of water extracted in T2 was ≈ 6% more than in T3. However, considering electric energy consumption, the highest efficiency of water extraction was achieved by applying a voltage gradient of 1 V/cm for 24 h. Consequently, polarity reversal affected the water extraction efficiency by reducing energy consumption. Furthermore, moisture reduction due to the dewatering process decreased the pH variation and copper release and transport. Roughly 35% of the extractable copper was removed on the anode side of T2, which was determined to be the most efficient for remediation.
ISSN:	1025-9112 1616-1068
DOI:	10.1007/s10230-021-00806-x