For the love of water

As water becomes more valuable as a resource, equipment engineer Mimico has timed it right with a new water treatment solution for quarries and mines and other heavy water user sites.

The Mimico Lamella thickener plant is a portable water treatment system, designed specifically for mineral processing industries, and is set to become an industry benchmark, says the company.

Known as the LT-100 model, and capable of processing up to 100 cubic metres of contaminated water every hour, the technology is based on the proven Lamella principle of settling particles from water flowing over inclined plates. Mimico has refined and improved the process and come up with the concept of a portable plant with a very small footprint relative to its ability to treat large volumes of water. Despite its impressive processing capacity, the plant’s footprint is just six metres by six metres. The plant is transported in two units by truck and can be quickly assembled on site within four hours.

The transportable Lamella clarifier thickener uses a Metso VT pump to deliver contaminated water into the Lamella plant where polymer is added to produce larger particles called flocs. These flocs make their way through feed ports into the Lamella plate packs that, because of their unique design, cause the flocs to settle quickly in the thickener.

The clean water then moves up through the Lamella plates, and overflows through the discharge launder. The clean water is then piped into a tank, and can be reused around the site by means of a recycle pump.

Solids are allowed to consolidate into a thickened sludge. The density of the sludge is monitored and discharged at regular intervals. The system can be used in even the most sensitive of environments, says Mimico.

The Lamella clarifier thickener can treat water from 30 cubic metres to 800 cubic metres per hour.

An optional extra is an automated polymer mixing system that replaces manual mixing. This ensures consistent and repeatable accuracy while saving time and reducing operating costs, says Mimico. Other options include pH analysis and control, clean water recycling, data analysis and monitoring, preventive maintenance monitoring, and options to purchase or lease.

The plant has been designed to allow for around-the-clock operation in remote locations, without the need for an on-site operator. Machine to machine technology options can deliver specific information on the plant’s operation to operators and managers. Information such as power consumption and consumable usage can be sent to the financial manager, water quality data to the environmental manager, process data to the plant supervisor, preventive maintenance data to the maintenance manager, and alarms sent via text to the operator and site manager as required.

Data can be sent in a text message to a cell phone or emailed as a regular detailed report, and is also logged on the plant operator’s screen and can be viewed in real time. The modern touch screen is easy to use and allows the operator to oversee the operation quickly and simply.