Powder blends are described comprising blends of particulate water soluble high molecular weight polymer flocculants. The polymer flocculants can include polyethylene oxide, polyacrylamide, copolymers thereof and combinations thereof. The powder blends allows the use of fine powders while reducing potential air quality and safety issues. The powder blends can be used for waste water purification, fiber dewatering, and the like. The powder blends can be diluted by a water dilution flow prior to entering a waste water stream.

The present invention relates to a method for flocculating and dewatering oil sands fine tailings. Said method comprises mixing the aqueous mineral suspension with a poly(ethylene oxide) (co)polymer to form a dough-like material. The material is then dynamically mixed in an in-line reactor to break down the dough-like material to form microflocs having an average size of 1 to 500 microns, and to release water. The internal diameter of the in-line reactor is at most five times the internal diameter of the inlet pipe of the reactor. The suspension of microflocs has a viscosity of at most 1000 cP and a yield stress of at most 300 Pa.

A lime stabilization system and method is provided in which thickened liquid sludge and lime are separately delivered, under controlled conditions, to a reaction tank and mixed therein to a predetermined pH, controlled via a programmable logic computer. The weight of liquid sludge in the reaction tank is controlled from the computer via load cells that measure the weight of such liquid sludge in the reaction tank. The computer monitors the amount of liquid sludge and lime delivered to the reaction tank, for mixing therein to a desired pH, for a predetermined amount of time, and the resultant mix is discharged from the reaction tank, to a holding tank, for return to the land.

The present invention discloses a composite biogenic flocculant for enhancing flocculation and dewaterability of chemically enhanced primary treatment (CEPT) sludge. The present invention also discloses method of conditioning CEPT sludge using the composite biogenic flocculant.

The present invention relates to an apparatus (1), suitable for preparing and dispensing a flocculant solution to dewatering an aqueous process stream (4), wherein the apparatus (1) comprises a mixing pump (5) that mixes the flocculant solution and builds up a pressure onto the flocculant solution, and a maturing pressure tank (2), whereby the maturing pressure tank (2) is fluidly connected with the mixing pump (5), so that the pressurized diluted flocculant solution (3) is led from the mixing pump (5) into the maturing pressure tank (2) and matured therein under pressure that is above atmosphere pressure.

A process (S1) for producing freeze-dried sludge includes: an acclimatization step (S10) of imposing a load on cells of a microorganism in activated sludge to acclimatize the cells; a production increase step (S21) of subjecting the activated sludge to a production increase operation in which production of an extracellular polymer by the cells is increased after the acclimatization step (S10); and a freeze-drying step (S30) of freeze-drying the activated sludge after the production increase step (S21).

A wastewater concentrator a liquid evaporator assembly, a gas-liquid separator, an exhaust assembly, and a slurry thickening and storage system. The slurry thickening and storage system includes a slurry thickening tank fluidly connected to the gas-liquid separator and a thickened slurry storage tank fluidly connected to the slurry thickening tank.

A wastewater concentrator a liquid evaporator assembly, a gas-liquid separator, an exhaust assembly, and a slurry thickening and storage system. The slurry thickening and storage system includes a slurry thickening tank fluidly connected to the gas-liquid separator and a thickened slurry storage tank fluidly connected to the slurry thickening tank.

The present invention relates to an in-line mixing apparatus and use therein for adding a polymer solution and dewatering an aqueous mineral suspension. Said method comprises statically mixing the aqueous mineral suspension with a poly(ethylene oxide) (co) polymer to form a dough-like material. The viscous mixture material is then dynamically mixed in an in-line reactor 40 to reduce the mixture viscosity and to form microflocs and release water. Said method is particularly useful for the treatment of suspensions of particulate material, especially waste mineral slurries, especially for the treatment of tailings and other waste material resulting from mineral processing, in particular, the processing of oil sands tailings.

Systems and method for treating wastewater including a vessel having an inlet and an outlet, a pump in fluid communication with the outlet of the vessel, the pump configured to pump wastewater out of the vessel, a separator in fluid communication with the pump, the separator configured to separate grit from the wastewater, the separator having a first outlet for discharging a grit stream and a second outlet for discharging a wastewater stream, a grit washing system in fluid communication with a source of washing fluid and the first outlet of the separator, the grit washing system configured to wash and dewater grit from the grit stream, the grit washing system having an outlet for discharging a wash wastewater stream, and a return conduit configured to recycle the wastewater stream discharged from the separator to one of the inlet of the vessel and an inlet to the pump.