Our Technologies to Treat Sulphate

Sulphate is a common by-product from mining activities. Coal and most metals are recovered from ore bodies containing sulphur based minerals that oxidize to sulphate when exposed to air. Sulphate is easily mobilized in waste streams and is subject to discharge limits ranging from 250 to 1,000 mg/L depending on the receiving environment and jurisdiction. Our technologies selectively remove sulphate without producing liquid brine waste and recover > 95% of water.

Sulf-IX™ and Sulf-IXC™

Our ion exchange based technologies use resins to selectively remove sulphate and hardness from process waters to produce treated water compliant with sulphate discharge limits and a solid gypsum by-product.

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All ion exchange reactions take place in fluidized bed reactors at rise rates that precipitate gypsum without scale formation on the resin beads. And with only the gypsum pore water lost during the process, these technologies can improve water use efficiencies in applications such as cooling towers by removing sulphate to allow for increased water recirculation and re-use.

Sulf-IX™ and Sulf-IXC™ Mobile Pilot Plant

We offer the capability to provide onsite field testing with a mobile pilot plant that demonstrates Sulf-IX™ and Sulf-IXC™ technologies to remove sulphate from wastewater to comply with discharge requirements.

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Housed in a single, self-contained insulated aluminum sided trailer, the unit can be deployed to your site for field testing with fresh solution. The unit is equipped with a field laboratory including a dedicated lab bench and can operate on a continuous flow basis in any weather condition. Full engineering and operational support for field tests is provided. Data collected from the pilot plant is used to validate the design criteria for a full-scale facility, ensuring cost effective sulphate compliance.

Mobile Pilot Plant Specs

Technologies	Sulf-IX™ and Sulf-IXC™
Capacity	Up to 14.4 m3/day (2.64 USGPM)
Reagents Required	Sulphuric acid, lime, flocculant and CO2
Unit Size	53’ long x 8.5’ wide x 13.5’ high
Electrical	UL/CSA
Automation & Controls	Fully instrumented, programmable PLC and HMI for unattended operation

Case Studies

Commercial Demonstration Plant

BQE Water entered into a development agreement with a US based mining company to apply Sulf-IX™ technology on mine impacted water containing elevated levels of sulphate.