Usage of the acid plant liquid effluent as processing water at the Ilo copper smelter plant, Peru

摘要

Water has become a scarce resource in mining and metallurgical processes, particularly in desert areas, such as southern Peru and northern Chile. Therefore, water effluent must be treated in order to be recycled. The present work shows the results of the treatment and characterization of the water effluent from the acid plant and its contained solid precipitates at the Ilo Smelter of Southern Peru Copper Corporation. Temperature and pH were measured in order to establish their influence on the physicochemical effluent behavior, and calcium hardness, total alkalinity and dissolved solids were characterized for weak acid samples. Additionally, monitoring and measurements on the water effluent were done in the plant for predicting the required water quality to be recycled to the process. Finally, the results of this study show an important economical and environmental impact on the current process scheme of the plant.