Abstract: A considerable part of water obtained by drainage of Polish coal-mines is saline which creates substantial ecological problems. The load of salt (mainly sodium chloride) amounts to 5 min t/year. Despite the utilisation of saline coalmine waters is considered to be the most adequate method of solving ecological problems caused by this kind of water in Poland there are only two installations utilising coal-mine waters and producing 100,000 t salt per year. In the case of the most concentrated waters, the so-called coal-mine brines, the method of concentrating by evaporation in twelve-stage expansion installation or vapour compression is applied, after which sodium chloride is manufactured. In the case of low salinity waters they are preconcentrated first by RO method. High energy consumption in above-mentioned methods of evaporation is a considerable restriction in the utilisation of coal-mine brines. An obstacle in the application of low energy evaporation processes, e.g. multi-stage flash, is the high concentration of calcium and sulphate ions in the coal-mine waters.

Abstract: For the past 40 years various approaches have been developed to treat acid waters coming from abandoned as well as operating mining operations. System designs have evolved to meet increasingly stringent discharge permit limits for treated water, as well as to provide solid disposal within economic constraints. A treatment system for remediation of acid mine drainage (AMD) or acid groundwater (AG) requires two main steps: 1. The addition of chemicals to precipitate dissolved metals contained in the waters, and if necessary, to coagulate the precipitated solids ahead of physical separation. 2. Physical separation of the precipitated solids from the water so the water can be lawfully discharged from the site. Choosing the appropriate technology and equipment results in the most efficient plant design, the lowest capital outlay, and minimum operating cost. The goal of these plants is to discharge liquids and solids able to meet standards. The separation of solids from liquids can be achieved through various means, including gravity settling, flotation, mechanical dewatering, filtration and evaporation. As important as the liquid solids separation unit operations are, they are driven by the chemistry of the water to be treated. The content of the dissolved solids will influence the quality and quantity of the solids produced during precipitation. Thus the two aspects must be integrated, with chemistry first, then mechanical engineering. This presentation will provide an overview of a number of liquid solids separation tools currently being used to treat AMD-AG at several sites in the USA. It will also discuss how their operations are impacted by the chemistry of their particular acid water feeds. The tools used include clarifier-thickeners, solids contact clarifiers, dissolved air flotation, polishing filters, membrane filters, and mechanical dewatering devices (belt and filter presses, vacuum filters, and driers).