A processing plant operating on a constrained raw water supply asked SMC to review whether water currently leaving the site as tailings could be recovered and returned to the process.
Design approach
Jar testing and a short on-site pilot established the treatability of the recovered stream and fixed the treatment train before any equipment was purchased. The selected scheme combines clarification, media filtration and a softening step sized for the required reuse quality.
- Clarification with optimised coagulant dosing based on pilot results
- Media filtration with backwash water recovered to the head of the plant
- Softening to protect downstream heat exchangers from scaling
- Buffer storage sized to decouple the treatment rate from process demand
Outcome
Raw water intake fell by approximately 30% while process water quality became more stable, which in turn reduced variability in downstream unit performance. The recovered stream also reduced the volume reporting to the tailings facility.
Water reuse projects succeed or fail on water balance. Once the balance is honest, the treatment train becomes a straightforward engineering problem.
SMC provides water treatment design from concept through detailed engineering, including pilot testing and commissioning support.