Alfa Laval decanter enables efficient, sustainable waste & water treatment

All drilling contractors want high productivity with energy efficient, safe, sustainable, and ergonomic operation. With stricter regulations coming for waste handling and water use, a proactive approach is needed. With an Alfa Laval decanter centrifuge on site this is possible. A decanter centrifuge has a safe and environmentally friendly setup that gives savings in time, money, and water use.

The challenge
In Scandinavia there are strict regulations on where and how you can drill. In this specific project, a mining company needed approval from county authorities to drill outside the current mining area. To gain acceptance from local residents, it is also essential to show that the exploration activities are done with limited impact on the environment. This means no waste left on site and minimum footprint. A compact waste treatment solution was necessary.

How it works
In core drilling water is needed, mainly to get the cuttings out of the hole. Clean water needs to be feeded via the water swivel and out of the hole comes a drill slurry consisting of water, cuttings and sometimes additives. Often the particles are as small as two micrometres. That makes it difficult for fast settling in standard pits or tanks. The way the Alfa Laval decanter centrifuge works is that it processes the slurry. Separating it into two phases. The cake (waste) and the centrate (clean water). Since the decanter centrifuge can remove most of the water from the slurry, the resulting waste (often 65-70% solid content) is dry, compact, and easy to transport away from the site. This means that the waste can be disposed in a safe place, with low cost and limited effort. In this specific project the drilling contractor has limited their solid waste disposal to as little as one sack of waste per week. Separating the dry slurry cake from the water also result in a fresh batch of clean water that can be re-used in the drilling process. Total solids were reduced from 4% to 0,5% thanks to the Lynx 20 (without adding flocculants in the process). When drilling in remote areas the water can be scarce, and a decanter centrifuge set-up opens new opportunities. Using the correct waste and water treatment system can make or break an exploration project, especially in remote areas with little access to clean water and the system gives you access to environmentally sensitive areas.

The solution
With an Alfa Laval decanter centrifuge on site, the drilling contractor has access to the smallest footprint compared to capacity solution on the market, for mechanical treatment units. The decanter centrifuge easily fits inside a 10ft container, making it perfect to transport in even the most remote parts of the world, without compromising on capacity demands. This modular solution is ’plug and play’, saving the drilling contractor important time and manpower that would otherwise be spent digging pits or installing more complex equipment. The well proven technology requires very little supervision and service, and the people on site can focus on drilling and core sample handling.

www.alfalaval.com