THIOPAQ~circleR technology: versatile high-rate biotechnology for the mining and metallurgical industries

摘要

THIOPAQ~circle R technology, developed and marketed by PAQUES Bio Systems B.V. in Balk, Netherlands, was first applied commercially in 1992 for the treatment of contaminated groundwater at the Budelco zinc refinery in the Netherlands. In its most basic form, a THIOPAQ~circleR system essentially consists of two biological process stages in series: (i) sulfate reduction to sulfide (anaerobic stage), and (ii) sulfide oxidation to elemental sulfur (aerobic stage). In practice, many process variants exist and the THIOPAQ~circleR process can be tailored to a host of applications in the mining and metallurgical industries, ranging from the treatment of acid mine drainage to acid plant blowdown. Sulfate may be (partially) replaced by sulfite ion in scrubber solution obtained by washing SO_2-containing gases of insufficient strength for processing in a sulfuric acid plant. The biogenic sulfide produced can be employed for the chemical precipitation of metals in solution either inside the anaerobic bioreactor or in a separate vessel.