Treatment Methods for Reuse of Municipal Sewage Effluent for Mineral Flotation in the Mining Industry

摘要

Efficient reuse of treated effluent from municipal wastewater systems is a key to effective water quality management in the arid southwestern United States. One potentially beneficial reuse target is the copper mining industry of southern Arizona. However, previous studies have indicated that some relatively undefined organic constituents of municipal sewage effluent are detrimental to copper and molybdenum recoveries in the froth flotation process. The process recovers minerals from ores and separates them into their respective fractions. The results of the study demonstrate the technical feasibility of substituting tertiary-treated wastewater for high quality groundwater. Activated carbon was the most successful tertiary process studied.