Program
All Presentations (pdf)

Monday
8:15 Brent Means
10:10 James J. Gusek
12:40 Jonathan M. Dietz
2:15 Kimberly R. Weaver
4:00 Brent Means

Tuesday
8:45 Robert Kleinmann
9:15 Brent Means
9:30 James J. Gusek
10:00 Glenn C. Miller
10:30 Linda Ann Figueroa
12:40 Art Rose
1:10 Charles A. Cravotta III
1:40 Danielle M C Huminicki
2:50 Bernard Aube
3:20 Timothy K. Tsukamoto
3:50 Bradley R. Shultz
4:20 Kimberly R. Weaver

Wednesday
8:00 Linda Ann Figueroa
8:30 John Senko
9:00 Song Jin
10:10 Jonathan M. Dietz
10:40 Daryle H. Fish
12:40 John Chermak
1:10 Griff Wyatt
1:40 Dan Mueller
2:50 Sean C. Muller
3:20 Jack Adams
3:50 Roger Bason
3:50 Mark B. Carew

Thursday
8:00 Rep. John E. Peterson
8:30 Scott Sibley
9:00 Charles A. Cravotta III
9:30 Michael R. Silsbee
10:30 Lykourgos Iordanidis
11:00 Mark Conedera
11:30 Barry Scheetz
1:25 William Benusa
1:55 Mike Sawayda
2:25 Susan J. Tewalt
3:25 Robert S. Hedin
3:55 Chad J. Penn
4:25 Ron Neufeld

High Density Sludge Production when Treating Mine Waters

Author(s)

Bernard Aube M.A.Sc., P.Eng
EnvirAubé
361 Aumais, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue
Québec, Canada, H9X 4A9
514.457.1727 - 514.457.7284 FAX
aube@enviraube.com
http://www.enviraube.com

Abstract

For many closed or operating mine sites, active lime treatment is the best alternative to treating acid mine drainage (AMD) resulting from the oxidation of sulphides. This is a relatively inexpensive and very effective means of meeting discharge requirements and has the advantage of being able to treat high acidity and high flowrates. Unfortunately, many types of treatment processes produce a voluminous sludge containing only 1 to 3 % solids, the remainder of the mass being tightly bound water. This presentation describes the factors that influence the production of a high-density sludge (HDS), a product that allows operators to save considerably on sludge disposal costs by reducing the volume of waste. These factors include the raw water chemistry, the process design, the reagents used, the process operating parameters, and equipment used. When the right combination is put together, sludges of more than 25% solids can be formed.

Presentation

Biography

Mr. Aubé completed a Bachelor in Applied Sciences, Chemical Engineering, from University of Waterloo in 1992. He then worked on various aspects of mine environment at Noranda Technology Center for 10 years. During this time, he specialised in treatment of acid mine drainage and smelter effluents. Bernie obtained a Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering from École Polytechnique (University of Montreal engineering School). His Master’s thesis was on the comparison of the Geco and Conventional High-Density Sludge processes in a pilot scale. Bernie started his own consulting company in 2001, EnvirAubé, specialising in the design and optimisation of treatment plants and sludge disposal. He is currently working on a project to treat zinc in a large pit lake in Northern Québec and consulting on a molybdenum treatment plant to be built in Chile.