Silica Removal from Industrial Plant Water

Thiobacillus thiooxidans also accelerate the process. Low-pH waters from tailings and acid mine waters have been reported in the range of 0.1-2.1 (Alpers et al., 1992), with the lowest value being reported as — 3.6 at the Richmond Mine at Iron Mountain, California, which is now a Superfund site (Nordstrom et al., 2000). Dissolved metal concentrations as high as 200 g/L have also been recorded in this AMD. 

The Santa Fe Mine, located in west central Nevada, has utilized magnesite and brucite, mined from the nearby Gabbs magnesite deposit, as a chemical cap. These were placed on the tops and side slopes of the sulfidic mineral dumps before cover soil application. The chemical cap consisted of placement of 20 tons per acre, followed by 8-12 in. of cover soil. The magnesite and brucite provided an alkalinity of 1920 mg/kg of soil. 

10 SILICA REMOVAL FROM INDUSTRIAL PLANT WATER 

---