Arris has formed an alliance partnership with Clearflow Group Inc.in response to the drive towards more sustainable environmental stewardship and more strict regulatory controls, particularly in the mining industry in Australia.

Arris are pleased to have a collaborative partnership alliance with Clearflow Group.

Clearflow products have been specifically developed for use in,

• Mining
• Stormwater treatment phosphorous removal metals reduction
• Soil stabilisation & erosion control
• Dust suppression
• Pond dewatering water polishing

Clearflow’s patented Gel flocculant blocks, soils stabilisers, erosion control and dust suppression products are designed to be site-specific and environmentally friendly.

Click here to download Clearflow Information Pack

 

Mining and Municipal Stormwater Solutions

Water scarcity, along with legal limits, is altering the landscape of mining site water management. Clearflow Group has spent decades assisting mining industry & municipal stormwater sectors in meeting existing and future environmental regulations in other parts of the world.

Mobile mine water treatment systems can begin generating high-quality water as soon as four hours after arriving on site and can be deployed in a variety of difficult-to-reach and isolated locations.

Arris provides the mining industry in Australia assistance with:

• Rapidly treating excess water for reuse
• Meeting stringent discharge requirements
• Allowing for the proper release of water
• Improving water recovery, including minimal and zero liquid discharge (ZLD) standards
• Treating tailings pit / pond waters*
• Removing high solids and particulate via membrane filtration protecting Reverse Osmosis (RO) membranes with pre-treatment becoming less dependent on external water supplies
• Preventative water channel erosion control treatment

Mining wastewater treatment requires management of highly concentrated effluents from the interaction of water with various types of minerals. These effluents originate from mining processes as well as from rainfall.

• Wash waters can contribute to mining effluents
• Acids flow process
• Leaching, flotation and concentration of water refining and gas scrubber effluents

Meanwhile, rain which infiltrates the mine’s tailings can trigger oxidation, hydrolysis, washing and other processes which result in highly contaminated effluent.

Contact between minerals and water, whether through process or rain, can result in a variety of reactions. The effluents produced vary in composition depending on the nature of each mineral, as there are some which are more or less soluble, hydrolysable and non-hydrolysable, and sorbents and non-sorbents. As a result, the discharge of such wastewater might have catastrophic implications in mining and its’ environment by entirely changing the chemistry of the water.

Traditionally, these effluents have been treated using physicochemicals which are harmful in nature or biological approaches which are not fast – acting. Clearflow’s zero discharge environmentally friendly gel flocculant products has shown to be a very good option, protecting the ecosystem and allows for water reuse in areas where access to water is limited. Furthermore, once installation costs are recovered, zero discharge is the most cost-effective long-term option.

*Please note: Tailings dam water treatment projects require additional insurances, which can be quoted on separately as required.

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Flocculants & Coagulants

Industrial operations such as surface mining, road building and aggregate washing result in high concentrations of suspended particles (Total Suspended Solids; TSS) in surface waters which must be treated prior to discharge into fish- bearing waters. A common industrial practice is to add flocculants to improve the efficacy and speed of TSS sedimentation. A significant environmental issue even small amounts of residual cationic polymer coagulant/flocculant remaining in treated water is highly toxic to fish at very low concentrations (LC50 ∼ 0.3 mg L−1).

The development of an inexpensive amelioration technique preventing cationic polymer toxicity is a significant advancement in surface and industrial water treatment to prevent cationic polymer-mediated fish kills.

Clearflow Gel flocculants are a revolutionary product which uses patented ‘ready-state’ flocculants to dramatically reduce colloidal material, suspended solids, heavy metals and phosphorous from lakes, ponds and streams.

Clearflow Gel flocculants are a natural water clarification solution which safely cleanses the water back to its original healthy composition.

This innovative technology gathers together large volumes of sediment which contains metals, chemicals and pollutants impacting aquatic life and accelerates the sediment settling process. This process helps the solids to fall out into a designated area, so that harmless clarified water can be released back into fish-bearing water bodies.

The Gel block uses flow energy along with particle size, shape and density to release or strip flocculant. The Clearflow Gel blocks come in a ready state form so can be used straight out of the box. Simply install the Gel block flocculant in-situ and after a brief hydration period the block becomes fully active.

The proprietary chemistry involved with the Gel flocculant is unique and is not an independent coagulant nor an independent flocculant. Gel flocculants are not a liquid, or a granular product as are most coagulant and flocculant products. Clearflow Gel flocculants are a semi-aqueous Gel and resembles a tightly bound jello visually. Gel flocculant is a combination of formulas Clearflow Group has invented and patented which encompass flocculation and coagulation, thickening, binding all into one format. A specific Gel flocculant formulation has also been created to use to reduce and neutralise cationic toxicity.

Key differences between common polymer flocculants and coagulants and Clearflow Gel flocculants are that the Clearflow Gel flocculants:

1. Have a wide functional range in pH from 3 pH to 12 No pH spiking required.
2. They are self-dosing and self-limiting. No dosing pumps
3. Passive dosing and release based on load factor
4. Zero added energy required to treat water, only requires flow
5. Have a wide functional range in salt laden Works in fresh water or sea water.
6. Have a wide functional temperature range from freezing to
7. High removal efficiency for metals, TSS, phosphorus in both dissolved and totals
8. Each Gel flocculant block can typically treat *15,000 m3 to 40,000 m3 of water in open channel applications

• Rapidly treats water for reuse – The Clearflow Gel flocculant blocks begin working in just minutes.
• Simplifies the water treatment process – Clearflow Gel blocks eliminate the need for costly, complex systems and helps with enhancing downstream filtration or settling.
• Provides safe, scientifically-proven results – A single Gel flocculant block treats up to 20000 m3 (5.3 million US gallons) at 190 L/min (50 US GPM) of flow, and eliminates up to 99% of particular matter..

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Coverage:

1 block will typically treat 20,000 m3 of sediment-laden water. Variables affecting performance include water temperature, flow velocity, sediment load, and system design. Typical design configurations are calculated using 1 Water Lynx block for every 190 to 380 Litres per minute of flow.

 

Gel Floc 300 – The 300 series Gel flocculant blocks are negatively charged and cause particles to form large floccules which are more easily separated out of the water.

Gel Floc 400 – The 400 Series Gel flocculant blocks are used to pretreat suspended solids making them easier to bind together with 300 series blocks. Use of 400 Series Gel flocculants are effective in removing some metals and nutrients from the water.

Gel Floc 600 –  The 600 series Gel flocculant blocks are positively charged and are used to flocculate solids which are organic in origin.

Gel Floc Neuraliser –  The Neutraliser block is a negatively charged product which releases faster than the standard 300 series product. It is used to neutralise the positive charge of 600 series Gel flocculants or other cationic flocculants and coagulants.

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Applications:

Use in situ in natural creeks, rivers and constructed ditches to remove suspended and dissolved materials / metals.

In ponds when used in conjunction with appropriate mixing devices such as aeration or fountain equipment and or waterfall designs. Design criteria should include the use of geo-jute to act as sediment- collection and final polishing of discharge water.

 

 

 

 

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Erosion control & soil stabilisation solutions

Soil Lynx

Erosion control and soil stabilisation solutions can also be used to facilitate the water clarifying process. One of the solutions we use is Soil Lynx – a granular powder which adheres to soil and protects it from being washed away. The powder also helps retain up to 25% more water within the soil, enhancing germination and revegetation of the land.

Biodegradable treated silt collection mats 

The collection and treatment of runoff water can be further enhanced with the use of specially treated silt collection mats. This fully biodegradable material captures over 40kg’s of sediment per mat and can be seeded and left on-site to create an environmental enhancement and avoid any disposal costs.

 

 

 

 

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Frequently asked questions?

To find answers to questions like, “What can Clearflow Gel flocculant products remove from water?”, “Could application of this product harm plants or animals in the environment?” and “What happens to the particles bound by Clearflow products?”, click here.

Reports and documentation

For more specific information and Safety Data Sheets, click here.

For Aquatic Toxicology information, click here (5MB pdf).

For Case Studies, click here

To find out more about Clearflow products
as well as other Arris water treatment
technologies, click here.

Contact Arris to find out more about
our specialised water technology solutions.