 | Flamingo series 13 (Vol 1) |
| Expanded Title: | In providing incremental steps in a number of key areas, the overall objective of waste beneficiation of mine wastewater has been advanced in which technology provides an enabling platform for wastes to be managed as resources with economic potential rather than as a dead cost to both the community and the environment. In the first part of this project K5/1456 (Volume I), a kinetic model was developed for the core unit process in BioSURE® and similar systems, of biological sulphate reduction (BSR) with primary sewage sludge (PSS) as substrate in a UASB reactor. The experimental investigation on the feasibility of the UASB system for BSR with PSS has indicated that this system holds considerable promise but the effects of sludge bed recycling need to be examined.
The second part of K5/1456 (Volume II) investigated the beneficiation of mine wastewaters and their use as a resource. An assessment of water, soil and climatic requirements for crop production in the area was undertaken by the Agricultural Research Council Institute. A list of potential crops was identified which would be suitable for production in the Eastern Ekurhuleni region, and this was used in the subsequent investigations of both extensive and intensive agricultural production models evaluated. The suitability of treated water quality for irrigation was considered for both reverse osmosis (RO) and the BioSURE® treatment options. The study indicated that some 113 farming and gardening enterprises may be established in this way and generating around 950 additional permanent jobs and a net farming income for the scheme of R26 million. Clearly the system could act as an incubator for the development of agricultural entrepreneurial skills which could, in time, relocate to other possibly more productive enterprises. This remains a first order assessment of feasibility and would require a much more detailed follow-up to provide the rigorous and detailed planning structure on which to proceed. |
| Date Published: | 01/04/2009 |
| Document Type: | Research Report |
| Document Subjects: | Wastewater Management - Industrial, Mine water - Mine water treatment |
| Document Format: | Report |
| Document File Type: | pdf |
| Research Report Type: | Technical |
| WRC Report No: | TT 393/09 |
| ISBN No: | 978-1-77005-833-4 |
| ISBN Set No: | 978-1-77005-855-2 |
| Authors: | Ristow NE; Sötemann SW; Rajkumar S; Wentzel MC; Brouckaert CJ; Buckley CA; Ekama GA; Rose PD |
| Project No: | K5/1456 |
| Originator: | WRC |
| Organizations: | Water Research Group Department of Civil Engineering University of Cape Town; Pollution Research Group Department of Chemical Engineering University of Natal; Environmental Biotechnology Research Unit Rhodes University |
| Document Size: | 2 693 KB |
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