- Title: Polish coal mine extracts minerals from wastewater to protect environment
- Date: 9th October 2019
- Summary: VARIOUS OF ENGINE PULLING MINE CARTS ON RAILS VIEW OF MINE FROM NEARBY HILL BULLDOZER DRIVING PAST COAL (SOUNDBITE) (Polish) DIRECTOR OF THE "BOLESLAW SMIALY" COAL MINE IN LAZISKA GORNE, GRZEGORZ CONRAD, SAYING: "Our desalination installation is a modern breakthrough in the desalination of waters which we will always face because mine waters are mineralised to a greater or lesser degree but they will always need to be desalinated and not, as in past years, dumped into the rivers without desalination". GLIWICE, POLAND (OCTOBER 8, 2019) (REUTERS) SIGN AND LOGO OF THE SILESIAN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY VARIOUS OF LAB WORKER SHOWING WATER DESALINATION MEASURING EQUIPMENT LAZISKA GORNE, POLAND (OCTOBER 8, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF COAL POWER PLANT IN LAZISKA GORNE
- Embargoed: 23rd October 2019 11:47
- Keywords: Poland coal mining eu project brine wastewater environmental pollution environmental project coal mine pollution
- Location: LAZISKA GORNE AND GLIWICE, POLAND
- City: LAZISKA GORNE AND GLIWICE, POLAND
- Country: Poland
- Topics: Pollution,Environment
- Reuters ID: LVA003B0DLUT5
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A coal mine in southern Poland has successfully tested a new water treatment process which desalinates wastewater and extracts minerals to protect the environment.
The treatment facility, installed in July at the Boleslaw Smialy mine in Poland's heavily industrialized Silesia region, operates with the participation of the Silesian University of Technology and is part of the EU-funded Zero Brine Project.
According to scientists, the coal mine wastewater is treated using a system of nano-filtration, reverse osmosis and electrodialysis in order to extract valuable raw materials such as sodium and magnesium chloride which are then reused.
The process is saving up to 50% of energy compared to the current best practice for water waste treatment.
The scientists behind the project say it proves that minerals and desalinated water can be extracted from industrial processes for reuse in other industries, for example, to fireproof materials in the steel industry.
Poland derives around 80% of its power production from coal-fired plant generation and for decades, wastewater from the coal mining industry has been diluted and dumped into local river systems.
According to Zero Brine, the coal mining industry in Poland discharges around 4 million tons of sodium chloride into rivers every year damaging the environment and reducing aquatic life.
The project which is also being pilot tested in the Netherlands, Spain and Turkey, covers several industries concerned with saline waste waters including production of silica and textile.
(Production: Janusz Chmielewski, Dominik Starosz) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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