How To Manage Water Treatment In Your Quarry
Managing water treatment is important in your quarry as it improves the overall quality of water in an area. It's required to make sure contaminants are eliminated.
A large amount of wastewater is created in quarries from the washing and processing of sand and aggregates and managing water treatment effectively can help to reduce costs, as fewer treatment chemicals are needed to treat water. Fewer chemicals also reduce the carbon footprint of wastewater treatment plants.
A well-designed, well-maintained water treatment system can ensure a compliant discharge and improve the environmental performance of a quarry. Here at Atlantic Pumps, we take a sustainable approach to our work. We have worked to reduce energy wastage from pumps and can reduce energy use by 20% on the average site.
Here are some ways of managing water on your site:
Coagulation and Flocculation
Both the water that's under the ground and water on the surface contains two types of particles: dissolved and suspended. The processes of coagulation and flocculation help to separate these particles to clean water. Atlantic Pumps’s Treatment Tanks prepare quarry water with coagulant and flocculent polymer and prepare water for further treatment.
The process of coagulation and flocculation happens in several steps which allow for particles to collide and floc, or loosely clumped fine particles, to grow. After this, sedimentation occurs.
Thickener Tanks and Lagoons
Thickener tanks can be incredibly useful in quarries as they can save time and space by removing waste silt which then allows the water to be recycled.
In the quarry environment, thickener tanks are used at the end of the wash plant process, after the cyclones. A lagoon on site can serve the same purpose, but these take up space, require maintenance, and are slower as it takes a long time for the silt to settle out.
Another way to clarify the water is to use a Lamella settlement tank. These types of tank are very efficient and convenient, settling out much more silt for the space they take up. If your discharge water is acidic or alkaline, you may also use a correction tank to neutralise the water and bring it into a safe pH range.
Once your water has been clarified, you can either re-use the now-clean water, or safely discharge it into a local water course.
EnviroHub Monitoring Units
Monitoring your water quality is also a key factor when managing water quality in your quarry. The EnviroHub Monitoring Unit is situated in the pipeline as it leaves your site and using the probes or water meter onboard monitors the water quality as it passes that particular point. It can monitor a wide range of parameters including pH, turbidity, and flow. The EnviroHub Monitoring Unit is self-contained and elevated above ground level for the protection of equipment. As the system continually reads the water quality it will send a text or email alert message to site operatives when a permit constraint is approached or met, giving time for corrective action to be taken.
For more information about how to manage water treatment in your quarry, get in touch with Atlantic Pumps today.
