Patent Application
20220195306
This present disclosure relates to calcined clay tailings and/or calcined mine waste, and associated systems and methods. Particular embodiments of the present disclosure relate to calcining tailings that have been treated with lime at elevated pH levels and/or mine waste, and blending one or more additives with the calcined tailings and/or calcined mine waste.
The extraction of bitumen from oil sands has been traditionally performed using the Clark Hot Water Extraction (CHWE) process or variants thereof. A tailings slurry, defined as whole tailings, is produced as a byproduct of the CHWE process, and can include water, sand, clay, and residual bitumen particles that are suspended in the extraction water. Coarse sand particles (e.g., >44 μm) can be easily removed from whole-tailings, but removal of finer particles (fines) can be more problematic. A portion of the remaining fines, water, and residual bitumen form a slurry that is about 10-15% solids by mass, which after a number of years can settle to be about 20-40% solids by mass. This slurry is referred to as fluid fine tailings (FFT) and/or mature fine tailings (MFT), and can remain for decades in a fluid state without further aggregation or settling. Slow consolidation, limited solids strength, and poor water quality of the FFT/MFT limits options for reclamation and has resulted in the formation of large tailings ponds.
A number of different technologies have been tried to improve the reclamation of FFT/MFT. Some of these technologies include whole-tailings treatment, non-segregating treatment (NST) production, composite or consolidated tailings (CT) production, tailings reduction operations (TRO), atmospheric drying, or treatment with polymers. Furthermore, some of these technologies include treating the FFT/MFT using coagulants such as gypsum and alum. These methods, however, have worked with only limited success and many technologies yield treated tailings that require additional treatments before reclamation is possible. For example, when using gypsum to treat FFT and/or MFT, the resulting release water contains high concentrations of soluble calcium, which can impair effectiveness of the subsequent extraction process. There currently exists over a billion cubic meters of FFT/MFT in tailings ponds. As such, there is a need for an improved method and process to treat oil sands tailings.
Embodiments of the present technology relate to calcining a dewatered tailings and/or mining waste stream to produce a product that can be utilized within industry (e.g., the cement industry). The present technology is illustrated, for example, according to various aspects described below, including with reference to
Many aspects of the present technology can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are schematic and not necessarily to scale. Instead, emphasis is placed on illustrating the principles of the present technology clearly. A person skilled in the relevant art will understand that the features shown in the drawings are for purposes of illustrations, and variations, including different and/or additional features and arrangements thereof, are possible.
Fluid tailings originating from mine and oil sands operations are often stored in ponds or holding areas prior to treatment, and can be treated with lime to form dewatered tailings (e.g., tailings cake) that can be reclaimed. For example, as described herein (e.g., with reference to
Mine wastes originating from overburden and/or interburden, such as rock and other solid materials, must be processed to access useable ores. These mine wastes can contain the same clay minerals found in associated mine tailings or may be from different geological members and strata unrelated to the ore zones. Unlike ore, these wastes are not ground as part of the mine's operations but still need to be managed, and still pose environmental and health risks.
Embodiments of the present technology can mitigate such economic issues by further treating the dewatered tailings and/or mine wastes to produce products having economic value for multiple industries. For example, as explained in detail herein, embodiments of the present technology can calcine the dewatered tailings and/or mine waste by heating them to or no more than a predetermined temperature to produce a pozzolanic product suitable for use in the concrete or other industry. In some embodiments, the dewatered tailings and/or mine waste can be processed (e.g., milled or grinded and/or dried) prior to calcining. Additionally or alternatively, the calcined tailings and/or mine waste can be subsequently milled or grinded and/or blended with one or more additives (e.g., lime, enhanced hydrate, dolomitic lime, lime kiln dust, quicklime, gypsum, water, flow aids, etc.) to produce a cementitious blend or other composition having certain desired characteristics (e.g., a particular particle size or particle size distribution). In doing so, compositions of embodiments of the present technology can be used for multiple applications, including as a cement binder (e.g., for mine backfill), as a chemical soil stabilizer (e.g., for roadway sublayers) or as a direct replacement for coal fly ash, which is in short supply due to decommissioning of coal-fired power plants and the like around the world.
As explained in additional detail herein, a method for producing cementitious products from dewatered tailings can comprise processing dewatered tailings comprising clay minerals by crushing the dewatered tailings (e.g., to a powder) and then drying the grinded dewatered tailings such that the moisture content is below a predetermined threshold (e.g., 3%, 2%, or 1% by weight). In some embodiments, the grinded dewatered tailings are dried using waste heat received directly or indirectly from a heated stream used for calcining purposes. In such embodiments, the same heated stream used to calcine the tailings is also used to dry or pretreat the tailings upstream of the calciner. The dried tailings may be directed to a collector unit or to the calciner directly. In some embodiments, the calciner may be configured to heat the dried tailings no more than a predetermined temperature (e.g., 1000° C., 950° C., 900° C., 850° C., 800° C., 750° C., 700° C., 650° C., 600° C., 550° C., or within a range of 1000-550° C.). The calcined tailings may then undergo post-processing, which can include cooling and further grinding to produce a product having one or more desired particle characteristics. As explained herein, in some embodiments, the grinded product may then be blended with one or more additives depending on the desired end application for the product.
As explained in additional detail herein, a method for producing cementitious products from mine waste can comprise processing mine waste comprising clay minerals by grinding the mine waste (e.g., to a powder) and then drying the grinded mine waste such that the moisture content is below a predetermined threshold (e.g., 3%, 2%, or 1% by weight). Alternatively, processing mine waste can comprise drying the mine waste and then grinding the dried mine waste. In some embodiments, the mine waste (e.g., the grinded mine waste) is dried using waste heat received directly or indirectly from a heated stream used for calcining purposes. In such embodiments, the same heated stream used to calcine the mine waste is also used to dry or pretreat the mine waste upstream of the calciner. The dried mine waste may be directed to a collector unit or to the calciner directly. In some embodiments, the calciner may be configured to heat the dried mine waste no more than a predetermined temperature (e.g., 1000° C., 950° C., 900° C., 850° C., 800° C., 750° C., 700° C., 650° C., 600° C., 550° C., or within a range of 1000-550° C.). The calcined mine waste may then undergo post-processing, which can include cooling and further grinding to produce a product having one or more desired particle characteristics. As explained herein, in some embodiments, the grinded product may then be blended with one or more additives depending on the desired end application for the product.
In the figures, identical reference numbers identify generally similar, and/or identical, elements. Many of the details, dimensions, and other features shown in the Figures are merely illustrative of particular embodiments of the disclosed technology. Accordingly, other embodiments can have other details, dimensions, and features without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. In addition, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that further embodiments of the various disclosed technologies can be practiced without several of the details described below.
The tailings 103 can be provided from a tailings reservoir (e.g., the tailings reservoir 102 (
The tailings 103 can have a pH less than about 10.0, 9.0, 8.0 or within a range of 7.0-10.0, 7.5-9.5, or 8.0-9.0. Tailings originating from sources other than oil sands operations can be more alkaline in nature, and thus the pH of such tailings may be less than about 12.5, 12.0, 11.0, or 10.0, or within a range of 10.0-12.5. The composition of the tailings 103 can include water (e.g., extraction water), sand, bicarbonates (e.g., sodium bicarbonate), sulfates, clay, residual bitumen particles, froth treatment diluents, organic polymers, heavy metals, sulfur, and other impurities that are suspended in the water. The clay can include one or more of a kaolin group mineral (e.g., kaolinite, dickite, halloysite, nacrite, antigorite, chamosite, chrysotile, and/or cronstedite), an illite group mineral (e.g., illite and/or glauconite), a smectite group mineral (e.g., montmorillonite, nontronite, saponite, beidellite, hectorite, and/or sauconite), a chlorite group mineral (e.g., brunsvigite, chamosite, clinochlore, cookite, diabantite, nimite, pennantite, penninite, ripidolite, sheridanite, and/or thuringite), vermiculite, sepiolite, and/or palygorskite. In some embodiments, the tailings 103 can include a solids content of at least 5% or within a range of from about 5-40% and a bitumen content of from about 0-3%. The solids content can have a clay content of from about 40-100%. The tailings 103 can be obtained or be provided as a batch process (e.g., intermittently provided from tailings ponds) or as a steady-state extraction process (e.g., continuously provided from oil sands or mining operations, or stepwise feeding in pattern). In some embodiments, the tailings 103 may undergo upstream processing prior to the tailings reservoir, e.g., cyclone separation, screen filtering, thickening and/or dilution processes. Additionally or alternatively, the tailings 103 may be diluted to decrease the solids content thereof. In some embodiments, the tailings 103 may be mixed with sand, overburden, and/or other materials to increase its solids content. Additionally or alternatively, the tailings 103 can also include fermentable or biodegradable organic material that, when anaerobically degraded by microbes, can produce one or more greenhouse gases (GHG) (e.g., methane) or biomass that can emit GHG. Such microbial degradation may occur when the tailings 103 are stored in stagnant conditions, such as in submerged regions in ponds or holding areas, and may only occur when the microbes and organic material are in an anaerobic state.
The coagulant 105 can include lime and/or inorganic materials that provide divalent cations (e.g., calcium), and may be provided from a coagulant reservoir (e.g., a coagulant reservoir 104 (
As previously described, the tailings 103 and the coagulant 105 can be combined in a mixer (e.g., mixer 106 (
The pH of the mixture 107 can be at least about 11.5, 11.6, 11.7, 11.8, 11.9, 12.0, 12.1, 12.2, 12.3, 12.4 or 12.5. Additionally or alternatively, the soluble calcium level (i.e., the calcium cations in solution) of the mixture 107 is at least about 40 mg/L, 50 mg/L, 100 mg/L, 200 mg/L, 300 mg/L, 400 mg/L, 500 mg/L, 600 mg/L, 700 mg/L, or 800 mg/L. As explained in additional detail elsewhere herein (e.g., with reference to
As shown in
The technology can also be practiced in distributed environments, where tasks or modules are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules or subroutines may be located in local and remote memory storage devices. Aspects of the technology described below may be stored or distributed on computer-readable media, including magnetic or optically readable or removable computer disks, as well as distributed electronically over networks. Data structures and transmissions of data particular to aspects of the technology are also encompassed within the scope of particular embodiments of the disclosed technology.
Combining the first coagulant 105 (e.g., calcium hydroxide) with the tailings 103 (e.g., in the first mixer 106 or in-line) increases the pH of the tailings 103 to be at least about 11.5. At or above a pH of 11.5, bicarbonates present in the tailings 103 can be substantially depleted due to reactions with the calcium hydroxide, as described below. In doing so, the soluble calcium ions needed for cation exchange within the first mixture 107 are reduced. Additionally or alternatively, such a pH can also enable the first coagulant 105 to alter the surface charges of the clay of the tailings 103, which promotes dewatering thereof. Using a coagulant other than calcium hydroxide, such as alum (Al2(SO4)3)), gypsum (CaSO4.2H2O) and/or calcium chloride (CaCl2), to treat the tailings 103 would not enable the clay of the tailings 103 to release water in the same manner as calcium hydroxide would, at least because reactions between alum, gypsum, and/or calcium chloride and the clay would not produce soluble hydroxides and/or a mixture having a pH of at least 11.5. For example, treating the tailings stream with alum would produce aluminum hydroxides that precipitate to produce hydrogen ions (e.g., as sulfuric acid) that lowers pH. The resulting mixture can have a pH less than 9.0. Such a low pH may inhibit dewatering and/or chemical modification of the clay of the tailings 103,which is generally undesirable. Additionally or alternatively, treating the tailings stream with alum, gypsum, calcium chloride, or other coagulants other than calcium hydroxide would not provide the necessary pH (e.g., a pH of at least about 11.5) to solubilize silicates and aluminates of the tailings stream or promote dewatering in the manner.
Adding the first coagulant 105 including calcium hydroxide to the tailings 103 can cause or enable Reactions 1-4 below to occur within the first mixture 107.
Ca(OH)2(aq)+NaHCO3(aq)→CaCO3(S)+NaOH(aq)+H2O (Reaction 1)
NaOH(aq)+NaHCO3(aq)→Na2CO3(aq)+H2O (Reaction 2)
Ca(OH)2(aq)+Na2CO3(aq)→CaCO3(S)'2NaOH(aq) (Reaction 3)
Ca(OH)2(aq)→Ca2+(aq)+2OH(aq) (Reaction 4)
Per Reaction 1, when sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) in the pore water of the tailings 103 is exposed to calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2), calcium cations (Ca2+) bond with carbonate ions (CO32−) and sodium bicarbonate is converted to insoluble calcium carbonate (CaCO3) (also referred to herein as “calcite”), sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and water (H2O). Per Reaction 2, the produced sodium hydroxide from Reaction 1 reacts with sodium bicarbonate to produce sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) and water. Per Reaction 3, calcium hydroxide of the first coagulant 105 reacts with the produced sodium carbonate from Reaction 2 to produce calcium carbonate and sodium hydroxide. Per Reaction 4, and as a result of the pH of the first mixture 107 being at or above about 11.5 and the carbonate ions of the mixture 107 being substantially depleted, calcium hydroxide can readily solubilize to form calcium cations and sodium hydroxide.
In practice, Reactions 1 and 3 can be limited only by the availability of carbonate ions in the first mixture (i.e., provided by the tailings). As such, Reactions 1 and 3 will reduce the amount of soluble calcium cations available for cation exchange (and pozzolanic reactions) to occur. Stated differently, Reactions 1 and 3 limit the amount of free calcium cations available to react with clays in the first mixture until the carbonate ions are largely depleted and/or removed from the first mixture. As a result of Reactions 1-4, in some embodiments the first mixture may have a soluble calcium level of no more than 100 mg/L, 90 mg/L, 80 mg/L, 70 mg/L, 60 mg/L, 50 mg/L, 40 mg/L, 30 mg/L, or within a range of 100-30 mg/L on a wet weight of tailings basis.
In some embodiments, the first mixture 107 can be combined with a flocculant 109. The flocculant 109 can include one or more anionic, cationic, nonionic, or amphoteric polymers, or a combination thereof. The polymers can be naturally occurring (e.g., polysaccharides) or synthetic (e.g., polyacrylamides). In some embodiments, the flocculant 109 can be added as a part of a slurry, which may include less than 1% (e.g., about 0.25%) by weight of the flocculant 109, with the substantial remainder being water (e.g., process water, release water, and/or makeup water). In some embodiments, at least one component of the flocculant 109 will have a high molecular weight (e.g., up to about 50,000 kilodaltons). In some embodiments, the flocculant 109 will have a low molecular weight (e.g., below about 10,000 kilodaltons) and/or a medium or high charge density.
As shown in
The second mixture 111 can include similar solid minerals, pH and soluble calcium level to that of the first mixture 107 and/or the tailings 103. The process water 112 can be recycled or routed to a separate process (e.g., for bitumen extraction), and the second mixture 111 can be routed to further downstream processing. By separating the second mixture 111 and process water 112, the vessel 108 decreases the volume, or more specifically, the amount of water, in the second mixture 111. As such, the overall volume to be processed by downstream equipment (e.g., the dewatering device 118) is decreased. Accordingly, an overall higher volume of the tailings 103 can be processed by the system 200 relative to systems that do not remove the process water 112 in such a manner. Additionally, separation of the second mixture 111 and process water 112 from one another can decrease overall cycle time of the system 200.
As described in detail elsewhere herein, the flocculant 109 can promote thickening (e.g., increasing the solids content) of the second mixture 111, e.g., by forming bonds with colloids in the vessel 108, e.g., that were originally provided via the tailings 103. That is, the flocculant 109 can bond with the clay present in the tailings 103 to form a floc that is physically removed from the rest of the mixture. In doing so, the flocculant 109 also aids the mechanical separation of free water from the mixture. In some embodiments, the amount of flocculant 109 added to the first mixture 107 is based at least in part on solids content of the second mixture 111 and/or process water 112. For example, the flocculant 109 may be added to the mixture 107 and/or vessel 108 such that (i) the solids content of the second mixture 111 is greater than a predetermined threshold (e.g., 30%) and/or (b) solids content of the process water 112 is less than a predetermined threshold (e.g., 3%). That is, if the second mixture 111 has a solids content less than 30% solids by weight, the amount of flocculant 109 added to the first mixture 107 and/or vessel 108 may be increased, and/or if the process water 112 has a solids content greater than 3% solids by weight, the amount of flocculant 109 added to the mixture 107 and/or vessel 108 may be increased.
The process water 112 can include hydroxides (e.g., sodium hydroxide), bicarbonates from the tailings 103, and/or other compounds formed as byproducts of reacting the coagulant 105 with the tailings 103. As shown in
As shown in
Adding the second coagulant 115 to the second mixture 111 increases the pH and soluble calcium level (i.e., the amount of calcium cations present) in the third mixture (e.g., via Reaction 4). The increase in the soluble calcium level of the third mixture relative to that of the first and second mixtures is due in part to the removal of bicarbonates via Reactions 1 and 2 that previously occurred after the first coagulant 105 was added to the first mixer 106. As such, the additional calcium cations provided via the second coagulant 115 result in a higher soluble calcium level since the calcium ions are not being consumed by the bicarbonates, which are no longer present or are present in smaller quantities relative to the first and second mixtures. The third mixture can have a pH of at least 12.0, 12.1, 12.2, 12.3, 12.4, or 12.5, and/or a soluble calcium level of at least 300 mg/L, 400 mg/L, 500 mg/L, 600 mg/L, 700 mg/L or 800 mg/L. In some embodiments, the pH of the third mixture is within a range of from about 12.0-12.5, and the soluble calcium level of the third mixture is within a range of from about 300 mg/L-800 mg/L, 300 mg/L-700 mg/L, 400 mg/L-600 mg/L, 450 mg/L-550 mg/L, or other incremental ranges between these ranges.
In some embodiments, increasing the pH of the second mixture 111, or more specifically, the tailings portion of the second mixture 111, above 12.0 may decrease the amount of microbes present in the second mixture 111 (and/or tailings portion) by creating an alkaline environment in which the microbes cannot survive, or at least not flourish. As previously described, the microbes present in the tailings 103 can anaerobically degrade organic material of the untreated tailings 103 to produce biomass methane and/or other GHG which may be released to the atmosphere. An advantage of embodiments of the present technology is that, by increasing the pH of the second mixture 111 to be above 12.0, the microbes may be unable to survive and thus the amount of methane or GHG produced by the microbes is decreased. Soluble calcium ions present in the water at a pH above 12 can react with carbon dioxide in solution as bicarbonates or carbonates released from microbial activity, e.g., to sequester carbon dioxide as insoluble calcium carbonates.
Other coagulants, such as alum, gypsum, and calcium chloride do not provide the chemical environment to capture carbon dioxide as described above. For tailings treated with gypsum or calcium chloride, for example, though some insoluble calcium carbonates can be formed, the calcium cations from these compounds will generally solubilize as bicarbonates at a lower pH (i.e., less than 11.5) and their addition to tailings will not enable the pH of the treated mixture to rise above 10.0 to facilitate pozzolanic reactions and dewatering. For tailings treated with alum (Al2(SO4)3), sulfuric acid is produced which actively decreases pH of the treated mixture. As a result of not having a sufficiently high pH to drive the reaction for form insoluble calcium carbonates, calcium released by cation exchange forms soluble calcium sulfate and bicarbonate. As pH decreases, carbon dioxide can be released as a gas, thus further lowering pH and resulting in additional greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, treating tailings with alum, gypsum, and/or calcium chloride are unable to raise pH to a high level where microbes count is reduced or their activity hindered. Instead these coagulants reduce pH providing better conditions for anaerobic microbial activity.
An advantage of the adding the first coagulant 105, flocculant 109, and second coagulant 115 in a step-wise manner, as opposed to adding only a single coagulant, is the decreased cycle time of the overall system 200. That is, adding the flocculant 109 (after adding the first coagulant 105) to the vessel 108 allows the flocculant 109 to flocculate the solution in the vessel 108 without the significant presence of soluble calcium ions, which results in a more desirable floc formation and improved settling of solids in the second mixture 111. Additionally, since the second coagulant 115 is combined with the second mixture 111 after removing bicarbonates (e.g., via the process water 112 and/or first mixer 106), the bicarbonates do not limit the effectiveness of the second coagulant 115 to promote pozzolanic reactions, as may be the case if only a single lime dosage was used.
As further shown in
In those embodiments including the second mixer 116, the third mixture 117 may be transferred to the dewatering device 118 immediately after mixing in the second mixer 116 (e.g., based on a measured composition taken at an outlet of the second mixer 116), or after a predetermined period of time. In some embodiments, the residence time of the third mixture 117 in the second mixer 116 may be less than 5 minutes, 30 minutes, or one hour. In some embodiments, the third mixture 117 may be retained for more than one hour, e.g., one day, one week, one month, or longer, e.g., to ensure it has been sufficiently modified for the dewatering device 118 by separating a sufficient or optimal amount of water from the solids of the third mixture 117.
The dewatering device 118 has a first outlet that receives the first stream 119, and a second outlet that receives the second stream 120. The first stream 119 can be a solid, soft solid, cake, or pumpable fluid material composed of the some or all of the particulate matter provided via the tailings 103, such as sand, silt, (chemically modified) clay, and residual bitumen and froth treatment diluent, as well as soluble calcium ions provided via the first and second coagulants 105, 115. The first stream 119 can include a solids content of at least 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, or within a range of 40-95% by weight. More generally, the first stream 119 may include a greater percentage of solids by weight than the percentage of liquids by weight. Characteristics (e.g., geotechnical characteristics) of the first stream are described in additional detail with reference to U.S. application Ser. No. 15/566,578 (incorporated by reference herein). The first stream 119 may be provided to a pond or holding area (e.g., a diked area, temporary storage, and/or reclamation area) via a pump, belt, truck, and/or other conveying system(s). In some embodiments, the mixture 117 can be placed on one or more pads in thin/thick lifts to consolidate and dry the solids content contained therein.
In some embodiments, the first stream 119, which may be alkaline thickened tailings or stackable mine tailings, can exist in an aerobic state or condition. Additionally, the first stream 119 can include fermentable or biodegradable organic material (as previously described), and microbes able to aerobically digest or degrade the organic material. The microbes present in the first stream 119 may be the same or different than the microbes present in the untreated and/or fluid tailings 103, as previously described. In some embodiments, the microbes of the first stream 119 can aerobically degrade the organic material of the first stream 119 to produce carbon dioxide (e.g., biomass carbon dioxide). In such embodiments, the produced carbon dioxide may be sequestered by the first stream 119 and used to produce a stable mineral, such as calcium carbonate (CaCO3) according to Reaction 7. That is, carbon dioxide produced via aerobic digestion of an organic material of the first stream 119 can react with calcium hydroxide (e.g., excess soluble calcium ions) present in the first stream 119 to produce calcium carbonate and water. As such, the produced carbon dioxide may not be released to the atmosphere, as would occur if excess calcium ions were not present and/or if the pH of the first stream 119 was less than about 12.0. Instead, according to embodiments of the present technology, the produced carbon dioxide may be used to form stable minerals (e.g., calcium carbonate) for industrial uses. Accordingly, an advantage of embodiments of the present technology, in addition to those previously described, is the ability to prevent the release of carbon dioxide from treated tailings and to produce stable minerals.
Ca(OH)2+CO2→CaCO3+H2O (Reaction 7)
The second stream 120 can include a solids content less than 10%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, or 1% by weight. The solids content may include particulate matter such as sand, silt, clay, carbonates, residual bitumen and froth treatment diluent, and/or calcium compounds or particles. The second stream 120 can be directed to a pond or holding area different than the first stream 119, and/or be used as recycle 122. As shown in
The system 200 can include the control system 130, as previously described with reference to
III. Systems and Method for Calcining Tailings and/or Mine Waste
As previously described, there currently exists significant mine waste and over a billion cubic meters of FFT/MFT stored in tailings ponds due to oil sands extraction alone. To mitigate issues associated with this massive volume, embodiments of the present technology include methods and systems for decreasing the current volume of fluid tailings and mine waste, and/or preventing the increase in fluid tailings stored in ponds and mine waste worldwide. As explained herein, embodiments of the present technology can treat dewatered tailings and/or mine waste to produce a calcined, solid product that has economic value and does not need to be later reclaimed. In doing so, embodiments of the present technology can significantly reduce the costs associated with the handling or storage of current fluid tailings and/or mine waste, as well as limit the environmental liability and carbon footprint attributed to the fluid tailings and/or mine waste. Additionally, by creating a product from these tailings and mine waste that has value, the dewatered tailings and mine waste can also be used as a potential revenue stream.
In some embodiments, the dewatered tailings 301 can be provided to the pre-calcining subsystem and/or the calciner 308 immediately after (e.g., less than 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 6 hours, 12 hours, or 24 hours) dewatering occurs. Doing so can inhibit pozzolanic reactions from proceeding, and thereby inhibit or prevent reactive silica and/or alumina present in the dewatered tailings 301, and necessary for calcining purposes, from being consumed via the pozzolanic reactions.
The dewatered tailings 301 provided to the crusher 302 can be the dewatered tailings 119 described with reference to
The crusher 302 can receive the dewatered tailings 301 (and/or mine waste) to provide a crushed dewatered tailings 303 (and/or crushed mine waste), e.g., to the dryer 304. The crusher 302 can be a mill (e.g., a grinding mill, an impact mill, attritor cell mill, etc.) or other device(s) configured to break particles of the dewatered tailings 301 into smaller particles (e.g., a powder) via grinding or crushing. Breaking such particles into smaller particles can increase reactivity of the calcined product, and expose additional surface area to thereby aid in decreasing residence time in the calciner 308. In doing so, energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions associated with the calcining process can be decreased. Additionally or alternatively, crushing the dewatered tailings 301 (and/or mine waste), e.g., into a powder-like form or smaller particles can enable more efficient calcination, e.g., via flash calcination which generally cannot process large particles on a consistent-throughput basis. The crusher 302 can be configured such that the produced crushed tailings 303 (and/or crushed mine waste) have one or more desired characteristics (e.g., a D10, D90, ratio of D90:D10 (i.e., steepness), particle size distribution, max particle size, etc.) depending on the particular end application for the calcined tailings (and/or calcined mine waste). For example, in some embodiments at least 90%, 95%, or 99% of the crushed tailings 303 (and/or crushed mine waste) can have a particle size no more than 74 microns and/or passing 200 mesh. Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments at least 80% or 90% of the crushed tailings 303 can have a particle size no more than 45 microns and/or passing 325 mesh. Such characteristics may directly correlate to time spent in the crusher 302. In some embodiments, the crusher 302 can include one or more air classification units, e.g., to expose a drying fluid (e.g., waste heat combustion air) to the tailings (and/or mine waste)in the crusher 302.
The dryer 304 is positioned downstream of the crusher 302. In some embodiments, the dryer 304 is upstream of the crusher 302, which can decrease free moisture content of the tailings prior to crushing, and thereby inhibit the crusher 302 from plugging. Additionally, in some embodiments the dryer 304 is incorporated with the crusher 302. In such embodiments, the drying and crushing of the dewatered tailings 301 (and/or crushed mine waste) may be performed simultaneously by a single device. The dryer 304 can be configured to produce dried tailings 305 (and/or dried mine waste) having moisture content no more than 5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, 1%, 0.5%, 0.1%, or within a range of no more than 5-0.1% by weight. Additionally or alternatively, drying the dewatered tailings 301 (and/or mine waste) can dehydroxylate or remove hydroxyl groups from the clay minerals of the dewatered tailings 301 (and/or mine waste), thereby enhancing the downstream calcining process by producing more active silicates and aluminates. In some embodiments, a lower moisture content can decrease the residence time, and therein the energy costs, associated with later calcining the dried tailings 305 (and/or dried mine waste). In some embodiments, the temperature of the crushed tailings 303 (and/or crushed mine waste) received by the dryer 304 is ambient temperature (e.g., 25° C.) and the dried tailings 305 (and/or dried mine waste) exiting the dryer 305 is at least 65° C., 80° C., 95° C., 110° C., 125° C., 140° C., 150° C., or within a range of 65-150° C. In operation, it may be desired to have the temperature of the dried tailings 305 (and/or dried mine waste) be relatively consistent (e.g., vary no more than 10° C.), and as high as possible such that energy losses (e.g., from the waste heat stream 326) are minimized. Increasing the temperature of the dried tailings 305 (and/or dried mine waste) can limit the residence time of the tailings (and/or mine waste) in the calciner, thereby improving overall energy efficiency.
Mechanisms for drying the received crushed tailings 303 (and/or crushed mine waste) can include exposing (e.g., directly or indirectly exposing) the crushed tailings 303 (and/or crushed mine waste) to a heated fluid source. As shown in
The dried tailings 305 (and/or dried mine waste) can be provided to the collector 306 positioned upstream of the calciner 308. In some embodiments, the collector 308 may be omitted and the dried tailings 305 (and/or dried mine waste) may be provided directly to the calciner 308. The collector 306 can effectively act as a buffer vessel or intermediate storage to ensure a constant, substantially uninterrupted supply of tailings (and/or mine waste) to the calciner 308, which can increase overall throughput and limit unnecessary process interruptions. The characteristics (e.g., particle size, particle size distribution, temperature, etc.) of the dried tailings 305 (and/or dried mine waste) and the tailings 307 (and/or mine waste) provided from the collector can be substantially the same.
As shown in
The calciner 308 can include a rotatable calcining vessel or chamber, in which the tailings 307 (and/or mine waste) are directly heated (e.g., via preheated air) and/or indirectly heated (e.g., via a radiant heating source). In some embodiments, airflow through the calciner 308 carries the tailings 307 (and/or mine waste) out the top of the calciner 308 with the process air (e.g., if the tailings 307 are fine). In some embodiments, the calciner 308 is a vertically-oriented gas suspension calciner, with the tailings 307 (and/or mine waste) fed through an upper portion of the calciner 308 and exiting a bottom portion of the calciner 308, and air injected in a counter-current manner at the bottom portion of the calciner 308 and exiting the upper portion of the calciner 308. In such embodiments, as the tailings 307 (and/or mine waste) drop through the calcining chamber, the counter—current air flow and/or rotating vessel can introduce turbulence and sufficient mixing to produce an environment with a substantially uniform temperature or uniform temperature profile throughout the calcining chamber. Additionally or alternatively, the calciner 308 can comprise a flash calcination unit such that temperature of the calciner 308 or portion thereof (e.g., the calcining chamber) is heated rapidly (e.g., at a rate greater than 1000° F./second) and individual particles are calcined in a relatively short period of time (e.g., less than 5 seconds, 1 second, 0.1 seconds, or within a range of 5-0.1 seconds).
As shown in
The calcined tailings 309 (and/or calcined mine waste) can have a moisture content of no more than 0.1% by weight, and pozzolanic properties such that, in the presence of water, the tailings 309 (and/or mine waste) possess hydraulic cementitious properties. As such, the calcined tailings 309 (and/or calcined mine waste) can be particularly suited for use within the concrete industry. The strength of the calcined tailings 309 (and/or calcined mine waste) and/or the calcined tailings 309 (and/or calcined mine waste) blended with one or more additives (e.g., lime, LKD, or other additives disclosed herein) to provide a cementitious binder having a uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) that increases over time (e.g., approximately 30 days) and/or is at least 7 Megapascals (MPa), 8 MPa, 9 MPa, 10 MPa, 11 MPa, 12 MPa, or 13 MPa, or within a range of 7-13 MPa.
As shown in
The grinder 314 is positioned downstream of the cooler 312 and/or calciner 308 and is configured to further grind the tailings 311 (and/or mine waste) to have one or more particle characteristics. The grinder 314 can be identical or generally similar to the crusher 302 previously described and thus can be a mill (e.g., a grinding mill, an impact mill, attritor cell mill, etc.) or other device(s) configured to break particles of the tailings 311 (and/or mine waste) into smaller particles via grinding or crushing, e.g., to produce a more uniform particle size distribution. The grinder 314 can be configured such that the produced ground calcined tailings 313 (and/or ground calcined mine waste) have one or more desired characteristics (e.g., a D10, D90, ratio of D90:D10 (i.e., steepness), particle size distribution, maximum particle size, etc.) depending on the particular end application. Such characteristics may directly correlate to time spent in the grinder 314. In some embodiments, the grinder 314 can include one or more air classification units, e.g., to expose a drying fluid (e.g., waste heat air) to the tailings (and/or mine waste) in the grinder 314.In some embodiments, the grinder 314 is omitted from the system 300.
As shown in
The desired end application of the blended product 317 may determine which of the additives 315 and amounts thereof are combined with the ground calcined tailings 313 (and/or ground calcined mine waste). Stated differently, combining the additives 315 with the ground calcined tailings 313 (and/or ground calcined mine waste) may be performed such that the blended product 317 has one or more characteristics (e.g., particle size, particle size distribution, composition, % silica, Si:Al ratio, etc.) that are similar to (e.g., within 20%, 10%, or 5% of) corresponding characteristics of the product that the blended product 317 could be used in place of. For example, in such embodiments where the blended product 317 is to be used in the concrete industry (e.g., as a cementitious blend, cement binder, or ready-mix cement or concrete application), it may be desired for the blended product 317 to have a percent composition of silica (SiO2) between 17-25% by weight. As such, if the ground calcined tailings 313 (and/or ground calcined mine waste) have a percent silica composition of 55-70% by weight and a high calcium lime additive has a percent silica composition of 2-5% by weight, then a 30:70 blend of calcined tailings (and/or calcined mine waste):high calcium lime, a 20:80 blend of calcined tailings (and/or calcined mine waste):co-calcined limestone and clay, or a 10:40:50 blend of calcined tailings (and/or calcined mine waste):LKD:co-calcined limestone and clay may achieve the desired amount of silica content for the blended product 317. The amount and type of the additives 315 combined with the blended product 317 may similarly be based on other compositions, such as percent calcium (e.g., via calcium oxide (CaO) or calcium carbonate (CaCO3)), percent magnesium (e.g., via magnesium oxide (MgO) or magnesium carbonate (MgCO3)), percent iron (e.g., via iron (III) oxide (Fe2O3)), percent alumina (e.g., via aluminum oxide (Al2O3)), and/or percent sulfur. In some embodiments, the blended product may have (i) a percent calcium oxide within a range of 50-70%, 60-70%, or 60-65%, (ii) a percent magnesium oxide within a range of 0.1-10%, 0.1-5%, or 1-4%, (iii) a percent iron oxide with a range of 0.1-12%, 0.1-8%, or 1-6%, (iv) a percent alumina within a range of 1-15%, 3-10%, or 3-8%, (v) a percent silica within a range of 10-30%, 15-30%, or 17-25%, and/or (vi) a percent sulfur trioxide within a range of 0.1-5%, 1-5%, or 1-3%. Such percentages can be determined based on an elemental analysis, e.g., in which an element of this composition is vaporized (e.g., via inductively coupled plasma (ICP)) and then analyzed by spectroscopy or spectrometry (e.g., atomic emission spectroscopy (AES) or mass spectrometry). For example, the percent calcium oxide may be determined based on the elemental amount of calcium, the percent magnesium oxide may be determined based on the elemental amount of magnesium, and the percent iron oxide may be determined based on the elemental amount of iron.
One advantage of embodiments of the present technology is the ability to convert what is currently considered a troublesome waste that is difficult to dispose of, into a material with economic value that can reduce reclamation cost or be sold for profit. In doing so, embodiments of the present technology may enable users to generate a revenue stream from existing tailings (and/or mine waste), and provide an additional incentive to hasten the remediation of tailings (and/or mine waste). Relatedly, embodiments of the present technology can also mitigate those costs associated with treating tailings (and/or mine waste) prior to calcination.
Another advantage of embodiments of the present technology is the ability to decrease the overall volume of fluid tailings generated in the first instance. That is, by calcining the dewatered tailings to produce a solid product, the production of fluid tailings that needs to be later reclaimed can be significantly decreased, thereby decreasing costs associated with the handling and/or storage of these fluid tailings. Additionally, the liability arising from the environmental concerns and/or carbon footprint can also be decreased.
Yet another advantage of embodiments of the present technology is that the cementitious binder blend can be created at lower temperatures compared to Portland cement or other related products, thereby resulting in less greenhouse gas emissions from carbon dioxide produced by fossil fuel (e.g., coal, natural gas, petroleum coke, etc.) combustion. Additional greenhouse gas emission benefits can be realized by preparing the calcined tailings (and/or mine waste) at site (e.g., mine where backfill binders are used), which avoids carbon dioxide emissions from fuels burnt during transportation of the tailings (and/or mine waste) to other sites.
The method 400 can further include calcining the processed tailings (and/or mine waste) to produce calcined tailings (e.g., the calcined tailings 309) (and/or calcined mine waste) (process portion 404). Calcining the processed tailings (and/or processed mine waste) can be done via a calciner (e.g., the calciner 308;
Without being bound by theory, limiting the temperature at which the processed tailings (and/or processed mine waste) are heated or calcined can inhibit or prevent damage to the crystal structure of the tailings (and/or mine waste) while also promoting disorganization of silica and alumina of the clay. In doing so, the heating or calcining can ensure pozzolanic activity and/or strength development of the resulting calcined tailings (and/or calcined mine waste) is maintained and/or not unnecessarily decreased. The upper temperature limit at which the processed tailings (and/or processed mine waste) are heated or calcined may be based on the composition of the clay of the tailings (and/or mine waste). For example, when the clay comprises a kaolin group mineral (e.g., greater than 50% by weight, 75% by weight, 90% by weight, 95% by weight, or within a range of 50-95% by weight), the temperature at which the tailings (and/or mine waste) are heated or calcined can be approximately 650° C., 700° C., 750° C., or 800° C., as these temperatures have been shown to sufficiently dehydroxylate the kaolin group mineral while also not causing undesirable changes to the crystal structure that affect the value of the calcined product. As another example, when the clay comprises substantially an illite, smectite, and/or chlorite group mineral, a higher temperature relative to that used to heat or calcine the kaolin group mineral-dominated tailings (and/or mine waste) may be needed to cause sufficient dehydroxylation. For example, when the clay comprises substantially the illite, smectite, and/or chlorite group mineral (e.g., greater than 50% by weight, 75% by weight, 90% by weight, 95% by weight, or within a range of 50-95% by weight), the necessary temperature at which the tailings (and/or mine waste) are heated or calcined to cause sufficient dehydroxylation can be approximately 750° C., 800° C., 900° C., or 1000° C. For the clay compositions comprising substantially the illite, smectite, and/or chlorite group mineral, these temperatures have been shown to not cause undesirable changes to the crystal structure that affect the value of the calcined product.
The method 400 can further include altering a composition and/or one or more characteristics of the calcined tailings (and/or calcined mine waste) to produce a product (e.g., the ground calcined tailings 313, ground calcined mine waste, or the blended product 317;
Altering the composition of the calcined tailings (and/or calcined mine waste) can include combining the calcined tailings (and/or calcined mine waste) with one or more additives (“additives”) (e.g., the additives 315;
The calcined tailings (e.g., the calcined tailings 309;
The first three compositions include 50% by weight Portland Cement and a balance of various concentrations of quicklime, limestone, and calcined tailings, and is compared to the fourth composition which is 100% Portland Cement. For each of the first three compositions, the UCS increases over time (e.g., from the 7-day mark to the 28-day mark), with the largest increase in UCS being from 6.2 MPa at the 7-day mark to 10.6 MPa at the 28-day mark. Advantageously, combining the calcined tailings with Portland Cement creates, in effect, a cement extender that costs less than Portland Cement alone to produce and, relative to Portland Cement alone and/or the combination of Portland Cement and fly ash, has a lower carbon footprint. Additional advantages to using calcined tailings as a cement extender include (i) converting what is currently considered a troublesome waste that is difficult to dispose of into a material with economic value that can reduce reclamation cost or be sold for profit, (ii) decreasing the overall volume of fluid tailings generated in the first instance, and (iii) reducing the reliance on fly ash, for which the supply is decreasing due to the decommissioning of coal facilities.
The first three compositions including the calcined tailings passed the Frattini test, which was conducted to test the pozzolanicity, a generally desirable feature, of the compositions. This test indicates that the first three compositions have pozzolanic properties and are able to consume sufficient amounts of calcium and hydroxide ions. Portland cement by itself fails the Frattini test because Portland cement is unable to consume sufficient amounts of calcium and hydroxide ions. For a specific chemical type of pozzolans (e.g. a specific tailings containing clay minerals), the relative values of calcium and hydroxide consumption may be used comparatively. The results of the testing can be used to understand if a material is pozzolanic and refine process conditions to optimize the pozzolanic properties.
It will be apparent to those having skill in the art that changes may be made to the details of the above-described embodiments without departing from the underlying principles of the present technology. In some cases, well known structures and functions have not been shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the description of the embodiments of the present technology. Although steps of methods may be presented herein in a particular order, alternative embodiments may perform the steps in a different order. Similarly, certain aspects of the present technology disclosed in the context of particular embodiments can be combined or eliminated in other embodiments. Furthermore, while advantages associated with certain embodiments of the present technology may have been disclosed in the context of those embodiments, other embodiments can also exhibit such advantages, and not all embodiments need necessarily exhibit such advantages or other advantages disclosed herein to fall within the scope of the technology. Accordingly, the disclosure and associated technology can encompass other embodiments not expressly shown or described herein, and the invention is not limited except as by the appended claims.
Throughout this disclosure, the singular terms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Similarly, unless the word “or” is expressly limited to mean only a single item exclusive from the other items in reference to a list of two or more items, then the use of “or” in such a list is to be interpreted as including (a) any single item in the list, (b) all of the items in the list, or (c) any combination of the items in the list. Additionally, the term “comprising,” “including,” and “having” should be interpreted to mean including at least the recited feature(s) such that any greater number of the same feature and/or additional types of other features are not precluded.
Reference herein to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “some embodiments” or similar formulations means that a particular feature, structure, operation, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of the present technology. Thus, the appearances of such phrases or formulations herein are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, various particular features, structures, operations, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.
Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing concentrations, uniaxial compressive strength, and other numerical values used in the specification and claims, are to be understood as being modified in all instances by the term “about.” Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, the numerical parameters set forth in the following specification and attached claims are approximations that may vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by the present technology. At the very least, and not as an attempt to limit the application of the doctrine of equivalents to the scope of the claims, each numerical parameter should at least be construed in light of the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinary rounding techniques. Additionally, all ranges disclosed herein are to be understood to encompass any and all subranges subsumed therein. For example, a range of “1 to 10” includes any and all subranges between (and including) the minimum value of 1 and the maximum value of 10, i.e., any and all subranges having a minimum value of equal to or greater than 1 and a maximum value of equal to or less than 10, e.g., 5.5 to 10.
The disclosure set forth above is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that any claim requires more features than those expressly recited in that claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in a combination of fewer than all features of any single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the claims following this Detailed Description are hereby expressly incorporated into this Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment. This disclosure includes all permutations of the independent claims with their dependent claims.
The present application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/130,294, filed Dec. 23, 2020, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The present application also incorporates herein by reference each of the following applications in their entireties: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/681,282 (now U.S. Pat. No. 10,647,606), filed on Aug. 18, 2017; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/184,689 (now U.S. Pat. No. 11,027,995), filed on Nov. 8, 2018; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/566,578 (now U.S. Pat. No. 10,894,730), filed Sep. 10, 2019.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63130294 | Dec 2020 | US |
