January-March 2023 - LIFE BRINE-MINING

Α) Identity of the project

Description/Aim

The project objective is to provide an integrated solution for the management of coal mine effluents, aiming at the implementation of the Circular Economy Strategy in the coal mine sector, throughout Europe. In the framework of the project, an innovative pilot system has been developed to treat coal mine wastewater, while at the same time valuable compounds included in the wastewater are directly recovered at the source. The pilot system is located in the area of Ziemowit mine, in Ledziny, Poland, and recovers clean water, suitable for irrigation and industrial purposes, as well as valuable salts of more than 90% purity, from a highly saline coal mine effluent.

Β) Best Practices

The Project aims to:

1. The protection of the environment and public health – the pilot plant treats hyper-saline wastewater from coal mine activities, which provokes the salinization of surface waters and the pollution of underground aquifers. Salinization disrupts the aquatic ecosystems while groundwater pollution deteriorates the potential sources of drinking water for citizens.
2. The utilization of components included in coal mine wastewater, by other industrial sectors – the pilot unit recovers valuable salts such as magnesium hydroxide, whose commercial price today is equal to 1,000 euros per ton. The coal mine itself increases its income from the utilization of its waste, while other industries can benefit from the purchase of salts at lower prices than the commercial ones today.
3. Social benefits – the incorporation of an innovative technicality for the treatment of saline effluents can offer new jobs, while the recovered clean water from the unit can be used for irrigation and at a municipal level for watering parks or cleaning public buildings.
   
   

Brine-Mining consortium, wanting to clearly communicate the benefits it aims for, utilizes various communication tools, such as its website (https://brinemining.eu/)  as well as social media, via accounts on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/lifebrinemining), Twitter (https://twitter.com/home?lang=el)  and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/life-brine-mining/?viewAsMember=true), with more than 300 followers.
Representatives of the project have presented part of its results in Conferences and Exhibitions. SEALEAU team participated in the Aquatech Exhibition in November 2021 in the Netherlands, the NTUA team participated in the BeNeLux 2022 Conference for Young Water Professionals in April 2022 also in the Netherlands, the Lenntech team in Melpro Conference in the Czech Republic in September 2022, and the GIG team at the Water Management Conference in Poland in October 2022. All teams presented parts of the Brine-Mining project results.
To raise the world's awareness about the effects of coal mine brine discharge, an environmental video has been released with interviews of the project partners describing the extent of damage provoked by saline effluent discharge in the environment, both to humans and the aquatic ecosystems (https://brinemining.eu/en/videos/).
In March 2022, NTUA, within the framework of the project, held a workshop on evaporation technology, with the participation of representatives from companies and other research projects. The workshop participants presented their work on the operation of evaporators for the production of clean water (https://brinemining.eu/en/life-brine-mining-online-workshop-on-the-evaporation-technology-10-3-2022/).

So far, two (2) Stakeholder Consultation Events have been held in the framework of the project. The 1^st Event (https://brinemining.eu/en/1st-stakeholder-consultation-event-september-2021/) was held in September 2021 with the participation of representatives from the scientific community, the political, and the industrial sector. The Event’s scope was the identification of opportunities but also barriers to the marketability of the pilot system from mines and other related industrial sectors. The 2^nd Event (https://brinemining.eu/en/2nd-stakeholder-consultation-event-june-23-2022/) was held in June 2022 with representatives from all the Polish coal mine companies, the public sector (ministries, water-and-sewage companies), and Universities. The aim of the Consultation Event was the demonstration of the project's pilot system operation to the participants.
The project's replication plan is the treatment of another coal mine wastewater stream with a different composition than the one which is currently being treated in the plant. The new stream comes from another mine of PGG, the owner company of the Ziemowit mine.
The project’s transferability plan is the treatment of potassium mine wastewater. Letters of Interest have already been sent by NTUA to all the European potassium mining companies for the treatment of their wastewater in the project pilot system.

Another workshop on the importance of brine processing in the EU region today will be held in the near future. The current energy demand situation, due to the war, makes coal the main source of electricity production once again, despite the European Strategy towards cleaner energy production. The treatment of coal mine brine is essential to avoid environmental burden on both soil and water in the European territory. Representatives from European projects, institutes, and companies will be invited to the workshop to exchange their know-how on membrane & evaporation technologies for the elimination of brine discharge in the environment.
At the same time, a digital platform will be created to develop a network of entities and companies with a common interest in the brines produced during mineral extraction. Companies that generate brines from mining will be matched through this platform with agencies or companies interested in acquiring brines of specific characteristics, as well as with technology providers interested in processing the brines.

C) Results

The pilot plant has been operating for six (6) months at the Ziemowit mine. The results so far are positive, as four (4) salts are recovered: magnesium hydroxide, calcium carbonate, calcium sulfate, and sodium chloride with a recovery ratio of more than 90% of the incoming flow to the unit. From the analysis of the recovered clean water so far, it seems that the conductivity of the brine at the entrance of the unit is reduced more than 100 times! The final goal is to operate the plant at full scale by the end of the project so that the discharge of brines into the environment from the Ziemowit mine will be zero!

The results of Brine-Mining are useful for the EU mining industries, as it provides the relevant know-how for the complete management of coal mine brines, while by the end of the project, data will also be available for the treatment of brines from potash mining companies. The project results can also help the European policymaking in the field of environmental protection. All the project data have been integrated into deliverables which are accessible to the competent EU bodies for the project implementation.

At the beginning of 2023, the 2^nd workshop of the project will be held about brine management in today's Europe. In March 2023, the 3^rd project Stakeholder Consultation Event will take place in Poland, while in the same month the project replication action will begin with the treatment of a different stream of coal mine brine. As part of the project, an International Conference on brine management for the protection of the environment will be held in June 2024.