A process to treat fines tailings generated from mining operations, wherein tailings material is sprayed onto a solid substrate as a thin layer and allowed to dry. The spray may be re-applied on top of the dried tailings film leading to multiple layers of dried tailings solids. The method may yield a solid, dry, and consolidated tailings material.

A bioprocess comprises regulating pH of trade effluent wastewater, adding and mixing a first bio-additive, adding and mixing a flocculant/coagulant, filtering through a filter device, adding, mixing of a second bio-additive with aeration, and adding and mixing of a third bio-additive with aeration. Treatment can be discontinued or continued by adding and mixing of hydrogen peroxide with aeration, and optionally exposing treated effluent to UV disinfectant. The treated effluent can be recycled or disposed. Compositions of bio-additives 1, 2 and 3 comprise a group of highly selective and effective microorganisms and enzymes that are immobilized on carrier support matrices from a group of alginate, chitosan, polyacrylamides, k-carrageenan and agarose.

There is described a method and apparatus for dewatering or drying mature fine tailings (MFT) associated with oil sands mining operations using ultra-thin-layers, and more particularly a method and apparatus for continuously spreading ultra-thin-layers of MFT over a silica sand substrate and simultaneously harvesting the dried MFT, while at the same time pumping a supply of MFT from a central canal.

There is described a method and apparatus for dewatering or drying mature fine tailings (MFT) associated with oil sands mining operations using ultra-thin-layers, and more particularly a method and apparatus for continuously spreading ultra-thin-layers of MFT over a silica sand substrate and simultaneously harvesting the dried MFT, while at the same time pumping a supply of MFT from a central canal.

A product, including digestate, that has been pasteurized through thermal hydrolysis, thermal alkaline hydrolysis, or thermal carbonization is cured to enhance its marketability. Variations of this disclosure include embodiments where pasteurized material is inoculated to further enhance marketability where the inoculation is performed by injecting a fungicide, other means of inoculation by injecting beneficial microorganisms to produce characteristics in digestate that are anti-fungal or produce suitable enzyme cofactors or nutrients to stabilize digestate, injections of vitamins to enhance the ability of plants grown using select digestate to thrive in adverse conditions, injection of chemicals to enhance the ability of digestate to retain heat and prevent freezing during wintry conditions, or any combination thereof. Other embodiments include using recycled waste heat generated from wastewater treatment or another process or solar energy for accelerating the drying process which occurs before, during or after curing.

A product, including digestate, that has been pasteurized through thermal hydrolysis, thermal alkaline hydrolysis, or thermal carbonization is cured to enhance its marketability. Variations of this disclosure include embodiments where pasteurized material is inoculated to further enhance marketability where the inoculation is performed by injecting a fungicide, other means of inoculation by injecting beneficial microorganisms to produce characteristics in digestate that are anti-fungal or produce suitable enzyme cofactors or nutrients to stabilize digestate, injections of vitamins to enhance the ability of plants grown using select digestate to thrive in adverse conditions, injection of chemicals to enhance the ability of digestate to retain heat and prevent freezing during wintry conditions, or any combination thereof. Other embodiments include using recycled waste heat generated from wastewater treatment or another process or solar energy for accelerating the drying process which occurs before, during or after curing.

The present invention relates to a method of dewatering an aqueous mineral suspension comprising introducing into the suspension a flocculating system comprising a mixture of polyethylene glycol and polyethylene oxide polymers, in particular a mixture of one or more low molecular mass polyethylene glycol with one or more high molecular mass polyethylene oxide. Said mixture of polyethylene glycol and polyethylene oxide polymers is useful for the treatment of suspensions of particulate material, especially waste mineral slurries. The invention is particularly suitable for the treatment of tailings and other waste material resulting from mineral processing, in particular, the processing of oil sands tailings.

A method and a device for the continuous purification of a domestic or industrial water stream. After passing through a biological reactor to obtain a sludge of between 4 and 12 g/l of Dry Solids, the method involves feeding a series of chambers separated by restrictions at a flow rate q, injecting air into a second chamber at a flow rate Q>q, in order to obtain an emulsion, injecting a flocculant into a third chamber, and recovering the degassed emulsion in a drain pan. Flocculated and aerated sludge floats on top, such that the remaining liquid centrate has a Dry Solids content less than 100 mg/l and has a positive redox potential>50 mV and a value greater than 100 mV relative to the redox potential of the sludge at the inlet of the chambers, and is reinjected upstream from or into the biological reactor.

A sludge drying bed for effective separation or decanting of water from sludge and the storage of treated sludge comprising of a sloping floor (6,7) to drain the water towards the sluice door (2) located in the front wall, two side-walls and a valve controlled filler inlet pipe (9) at the back wall where the sludge enters the bed. The sludge drying bed is covered by an openable pitched roof utilizing a breathable, waterproof, black membrane as roof material for ventilation, heat absorption and surface water runoff. The sluice door (2) contains alternating plates to facilitate the filling of the sludge drying beds and the decanting of the water at multiple levels within the sludge, with a sump (3) located at the front wall to facilitate the efficient removal of the dried sludge from the beds. A telescopic handle, sludge drying bed cleaning tool is provided to facilitate the cleaning and maintenance of the sludge drying bed. The sludge drying beds are modular in design.

A sludge drying bed for effective separation or decanting of water from sludge and the storage of treated sludge comprising of a sloping floor (6,7) to drain the water towards the sluice door (2) located in the front wall, two side-walls and a valve controlled filler inlet pipe (9) at the back wall where the sludge enters the bed. The sludge drying bed is covered by an openable pitched roof utilizing a breathable, waterproof, black membrane as roof material for ventilation, heat absorption and surface water runoff. The sluice door (2) contains alternating plates to facilitate the filling of the sludge drying beds and the decanting of the water at multiple levels within the sludge, with a sump (3) located at the front wall to facilitate the efficient removal of the dried sludge from the beds. A telescopic handle, sludge drying bed cleaning tool is provided to facilitate the cleaning and maintenance of the sludge drying bed. The sludge drying beds are modular in design.