Disclosed is a rake-free thickening device including driving area. The device includes a feed assembly, a diversion assembly and a clean coal collection assembly. The clean coal collection assembly includes a driving area. The diversion assembly includes a central tank. Slime water passes through the feed assembly and flows with a medicament from an upper part of the central tank to a middle of the central tank, and then diffuses around. Bubbles carry the fine slime up after reacting. The driving zone drives the dispersed bubbles to a defoaming zone located in the middle of the central tank. The slime water in the central tank flows through the central tank after defoaming. With the continuously filling of slime water, the slime water above the central tank overflows the central tank to the clean coal collection assembly within the diversion and settlement area.

A method of treating a sulphate-bearing stream which includes the steps of hydrolysing aluminium sulphate to produce a chemically-reactive aluminium trihydroxide and sulphuric acid, adding lime to immobilize the sulphuric acid as gypsum and using the aluminium trihydroxide to remove sulphate from the sulphate-bearing stream without interference of sulphate derived from the aluminium sulphate used as an aluminium source in the hydrolysis step.

The invention relates to a generator and its operation and use for generating toroidal and spatial vortices in a liquid. It comprises a rotationally symmetrical stator housing with an inlet opening and an eccentric outlet opening. It further comprises a rotor rotatably arranged in the stator housing with radially outwardly extending channels in constant fluid connection to the inlet opening. The rotor comprises a rotor disc, radially outside of the rotor with a side surface with inner notches in fluid connection to the rotor channels. The stator housing comprises a stator disc comprising a side surface with stator notches. When these notches face each other due to rotation of the rotor disc, a periodical liquid flow from the inner notches to the stator notches is formed and toroidal vortices are generated in the portioned liquid by shear stress as the portions of liquid move back and forth in the notches.

A filter medium for removal of contaminants from wastewater. The filter medium includes a walnut shell particle having a metal hydro(oxide) nanoparticle bonded to the surface of the nut shell particle. The filter medium is particularly useful for treating produced water and wastewater generated in steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) in recovery of hydrocarbons from oil sands to remove total organic carbon and silica. Processes for preparing the filter medium and for treating wastewater using the filter medium are also provided.

A universal chemical processor (UCP) including a reactor vessel with a main chamber, comprises inlets for feedstock, a fluidizing medium and reactants. The UCP further includes a reactive X-ray chemical processor (RXCP) having a large area hollow cylindrical cold cathode in the main chamber, a grid positioned concentrically with respect to the cathode, and an anode positioned concentrically with respect to the cathode and grid. In operation, when activated, the cathode of the RXCP emits electrodes onto the anode, which then emits X-rays into a radiation zone within the main chamber capable of ionizing feedstock and reactants, inducing chemical reactions, and sterilizing and decomposing organic materials within the radiation zone, and wherein, a fluidized bed is supported in the main chamber when the fluidizing medium and feedstock are supplied. The RXCP and the fluidized bed portions can be operated separately or in conjunction to achieve unanticipated results.

The present disclosure is drawn to systems and methods of treating or utilizing water, including water for cooling applications or separation of compounds from wastewater, using evaporation panels, evaporation panel systems, evaporation panel securing systems, evaporation panel sub-assemblies, evaporation panel assemblies, groups of evaporation panel assemblies, wastewater evaporative separation systems, evaporative cooling systems, splash containment shields, water delivery trough systems, and the like.

Systems and methods for treating wastewater with an oil-specific viscosifier composition and separating viscosified oil, undissolved solids and/or particulates, and/or other waste materials in such wastewater are provided. The methods further include: providing wastewater that includes oil; mixing the wastewater with an oil-specific viscosifier composition to form a viscosified oil; and separating at least a portion of the viscosified oil from the wastewater to provide treated water.

In this disclosure, a process of recycling acid, base and the salt reagents required in the Li recovery process is introduced. A membrane electrolysis cell which incorporates an oxygen depolarized cathode is implemented to generate the required chemicals onsite. The system can utilize a portion of the salar brine or other lithium-containing brine or solid waste to generate hydrochloric or sulfuric acid, sodium hydroxide and carbonate salts. Simultaneous generation of acid and base allows for taking advantage of both chemicals during the conventional Li recovery from brines and mineral rocks. The desalinated water can also be used for the washing steps on the recovery process or returned into the evaporation ponds. The method also can be used for the direct conversion of lithium salts to the high value LiOH product. The method does not produce any solid effluent which makes it easy-to-adopt for use in existing industrial Li recovery plants.

A flow back system for separating solids from a slurry recovered from a hydrocarbon well. The system includes a V-shaped tank with a first series of baffles configured to cause the settling of solids that are moved by a shaftless auger to a conduit fluidly connected to hydrocyclones mounted over a linear shaker. The overflow from the hydrocyclones is discharged through a second conduit back into the tank for processing by a second series of baffles resulting in a clean effluent. The clean effluent is recirculated in the well.

This disclosure concerns a system for purifying contaminated water and a method for using the system. More specifically, the invention concerns removing contaminants, such as those introduced by fracking, from a contaminated water.