Application of Polyaluminium Chloride (PAC) in Mining Wastewater Treatment: Improving Clarification Efficiency, Reducing Operating Costs, and Achieving Recycling of Mine Water Resources
Introduction
With the continuous improvement of environmental regulations and the increasing requirements of mining enterprises for the recycling of water resources, mining wastewater treatment has become an indispensable and important link in the mining production process. Whether it is metallic mines, coal mines, sand and gravel mines, or non-ferrous metal beneficiation plants, a large amount of wastewater containing suspended particles, fine mud, heavy metals, and mineral colloids is generated every day. If the treatment effect of these wastewaters is not ideal, it will not only affect the operation of the tailings pond, but also increase production costs and potentially face environmental discharge pressure.
In recent years, more and more mining enterprises have begun to adopt Polyaluminium Chloride (PAC) to replace traditional aluminium sulphate (alum) as the primary coagulant. Compared with traditional products, PAC flocculants offer advantages such as fast reaction speed, wide applicable pH range, low sludge generation, and stable performance under low-temperature conditions. Therefore, they have been widely applied in fields such as mine wastewater treatment, tailings wastewater treatment, and mine drainage treatment.
Many mines that have already completed process upgrades report that, while keeping the original treatment system basically unchanged, adopting PAC can significantly improve the clarification effect. Among these, the most intuitive changes are mainly reflected in two aspects:
The removal efficiency of wastewater turbidity is further enhanced;
Sludge production is reduced by 30% to 50%, effectively lowering sludge transportation and disposal costs.
For mines that rely on process circulating water, cleaner recycled water not only improves the stability of production processes such as grinding and flotation, but also increases overall water resource utilization efficiency, thereby achieving a dual improvement in environmental and economic benefits.
This article will center around the application of Polyaluminium Chloride in mining wastewater treatment, introducing the working principles of PAC, its applicable scenarios, and the important technical points that mining enterprises need to focus on during practical application, providing a reference for mining enterprises to select efficient coagulants.
Why Are More and More Mining Enterprises Choosing PAC for Mining Wastewater Treatment?
Mining wastewater is characterized by complex sources, fine particle sizes, and large fluctuations in water quality. The composition of wastewater generated in different mining areas varies significantly, for instance, tailings pond wastewater, beneficiation circulating water, mine drainage, and mine surface runoff all differ in their suspended particle composition and chemical properties.
Traditional coagulants can usually only maintain stable effects within a narrow range of operating conditions, and treatment efficiency tends to drop when the incoming water quality of the mining area changes. In contrast, Polyaluminium Chloride (PAC), by virtue of its excellent coagulation performance, exhibits a high capacity for adaptation across various types of mining wastewater treatment.
PAC can rapidly compress the electrical double layer of colloidal particles and neutralize the negative charge on the particle surfaces, allowing a large number of fine particles that are difficult to settle naturally to aggregate quickly into larger flocs, which are subsequently separated through sedimentation tanks or thickening equipment to achieve solid-liquid separation.
For modern mining enterprises, these rapidly formed large particle flocs bring multiple advantages:
1. Improving the Clarification Efficiency of Tailings Wastewater
Tailings slurries typically contain a large amount of ultra-fine mineral particles, such as clay, silt, and fine mineral powder. These particles remain suspended in the water body for long periods, and relying solely on natural sedimentation rarely achieves ideal results. PAC can quickly promote particle aggregation and accelerate the sedimentation speed, making the tailings pond effluent clearer and creating favorable conditions for subsequent recycling.
2. Enhancing the Utilization Rate of Process Circulating Water
In the ore dressing production process, processes such as grinding and flotation usually require a large volume of circulating water. If the turbidity of the circulating water is high, it will affect the effectiveness of chemical agents while increasing the risk of equipment wear. After treatment with PAC coagulant, the suspended solids content in the circulating water can be effectively reduced, improving the operational stability of the production system and reducing the demand for fresh water replenishment.
3. Lowering Sludge Treatment Costs
Compared with traditional alum, the flocs formed by PAC are more compact and exhibit better dewatering performance. A large number of mine application practices demonstrate that, under the same treatment objectives, PAC can reduce sludge production by 30% to 50%. This not only relieves pressure on the tailings pond but also reduces costs associated with sludge transportation, filter pressing, and final disposal.
4. Wider Range of Applicable Water Quality
Incoming water in mining areas is highly influenced by seasons, rainfall, ore types, and production processes, leading to frequent changes in water quality. PAC can maintain good coagulation effects within a pH range of 5.0 to 9.0. Compared with traditional aluminium sulphate, it has stronger adaptability to water quality fluctuations, reducing management costs caused by frequent adjustments to operating parameters.
5. Suitable for Operation in Low-Temperature Mining Areas
Northern mining areas and high-altitude mines often face the problem of decreased treatment efficiency in winter due to low temperatures. PAC can still maintain stable flocculation performance below 10°C, making it particularly suitable for mine wastewater treatment systems in cold regions, ensuring stable operation year-round.
How Does Polyaluminium Chloride (PAC) Play Its Role in Mining Wastewater Treatment?
From a technical perspective, PAC is an efficient inorganic polymer coagulant, and its core action mechanisms primarily include the following aspects:
Charge Neutralization: Fine mineral particles in mining wastewater usually carry strong negative charges, causing them to repel one another and remain in suspension for long periods. The addition of PAC can rapidly neutralize the surface charge of the particles, weakening the electrostatic repulsion between them, and creating conditions for subsequent flocculation.
Adsorption Bridging: As PAC hydrolyzes to generate polymeric hydroxyl complexes, these macromolecular structures can adsorb multiple fine particles, linking the originally dispersed suspended solids into larger floc clusters. The formed large-particle flocs possess faster sedimentation speeds, which can significantly improve solid-liquid separation efficiency.
Net-Catching and Sweeping: Under appropriate dosing conditions, the large amount of hydrolysis products formed by PAC can wrap and trap suspended particles, bringing tiny particles along into the sedimentation process, thereby further increasing effluent clarity.
Better Results when Combined with PAM
In many mining projects, PAC is usually used in conjunction with Polyacrylamide (PAM). PAC is responsible for rapid coagulation, while PAM further strengthens the floc structure, connecting tiny floc clusters into long-chain large particles, increasing sedimentation speed and filter press dewatering performance. This combination is especially suitable for treating ultra-fine clay minerals and high-turbidity mining wastewater, and it is also a process scheme widely adopted by many large-scale mines today.
Five Typical Application Scenarios of Polyaluminium Chloride (PAC) in Mining Wastewater Treatment
During the mining production process, different processes generate different types of wastewater, and thus have different performance requirements for coagulants. With its excellent coagulation and flocculation performance, Polyaluminium Chloride (PAC) has been widely applied across multiple fields including tailings wastewater, mine drainage, beneficiation circulating water, ore washing wastewater, and mine surface runoff, becoming one of the crucial agents in modern mining wastewater treatment.
Below are several typical applications of PAC in mining water treatment.
I. Tailings Wastewater Treatment-Improving Sedimentation Efficiency and Ameliorating Circulating Water Quality
In most beneficiation plants, tailings slurries contain a large amount of mineral particles with extremely small particle sizes, such as clay, silt, quartz particles, and ultra-fine tailings. These particles remain suspended in water for long periods, making it very difficult to achieve rapid separation relying solely on natural sedimentation.
In the process of tailings wastewater treatment, PAC can rapidly neutralize the negative charge on the surface of suspended particles, causing the originally dispersed microparticles to quickly aggregate into stable, large-particle flocs, accelerating sedimentation speed, and improving tailings clarification efficiency.
Tailings return water treated with PAC usually possesses the following advantages:
Improves the clarification speed of the tailings pond;
Lowers the turbidity of process circulating water;
Reduces fine particles entering the flotation system;
Increases the repetition utilization rate of circulating water;
Reduces the demand for fresh water replenishment.
For mining enterprises wishing to improve water resource utilization rates and lower tailings management costs, PAC has become an important coagulant in tailings treatment systems.
II.Thickener Feed Conditioning-Enhancing Thickening Efficiency and Increasing Process Water Return Volume
The thickener is a key piece of equipment in the mineral processing flow, and its main role is to increase the concentration of the slurry while recovering more reusable process water. However, when the content of ultra-fine particles in the slurry is high, the sedimentation speed of the thickener drops significantly, leading to an increase in the turbidity of the overflow water, which affects subsequent production.
Dosing an appropriate amount of Polyaluminium Chloride (PAC) during the thickener feed stage can improve the floc formation speed and increase particle sedimentation efficiency, making slurry stratification more distinct.
Using PAC for thickener conditioning typically yields the following effects:
Accelerates solid-liquid separation speed;
Increases underflow concentration;
Obtains clearer thickener overflow water;
Increases the recovery volume of process circulating water;
Improves existing treatment effects without adding large equipment.
For large-scale mines, improving thickener operational efficiency translates to higher production stability and lower comprehensive operating costs.
III.Mine Drainage Treatment-Effectively Removing Suspended Solids and Assisting Heavy Metal Removal
Mine drainage usually includes Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) and neutral mine drainage, and its water quality composition is relatively complex. In addition to suspended solids, it may also contain metal ions such as iron, aluminium, and manganese, as well as some fine mineral particles.
In the process of mine wastewater treatment, PAC mainly exerts an efficient coagulation effect, rapidly removing suspended particles and improving wastewater clarity. When the system controls the pH within the range of 7.5 to 9.0, some metal ions can form co-precipitates with PAC, improving the removal effect of heavy metals such as iron, aluminium, and manganese, and creating more stable operating conditions for subsequent deep treatment. Therefore, many mines currently adopt a combined process of PAC paired with lime to adjust the pH value, achieving stable treatment of mine drainage.
IV.Mine Surface Runoff Treatment-Rapidly Responding to High-Turbidity Impacts in the Rainy Season
During the rainy season in mining areas, large amounts of rainfall wash over ore stockyards, transportation roads, and tailings areas, causing fine particles such as mud, sand, and mineral powder to enter the drainage system, which leads to a sharp rise in surface runoff turbidity. If not treated in time, it will not only affect compliance with discharge standards but may also increase operational pressure on sedimentation tanks.
Compared with traditional coagulants, PAC flocculants feature fast reaction speeds and strong abilities to adapt to changes in water quality, making them highly suitable for treating runoff wastewater with large water quality fluctuations in mining areas.
Adopting PAC to treat mine runoff can achieve:
Rapid reduction of high turbidity;
Shortening of flocculation reaction time;
Improvement of sedimentation tank treatment capacity;
Reduction of system overload risks caused by heavy rain.
For mining projects with distinct seasonal rainfall, PAC can help the treatment system recover to stable operation more quickly.
V. Ore Washing Wastewater Treatment-Promoting Recycling and Reducing Production Costs
The ore washing process generates a large amount of wastewater containing mud, sand, mineral powder, and fine-particle suspended solids. If discharged directly without treatment, it not only wastes a large volume of water resources but also increases environmental pressure.
In the process of ore washing wastewater treatment, PAC can rapidly promote the aggregation of suspended particles, making mud-water separation more thorough. After a reasonable dosage of PAC, clearer return water can be obtained, providing a stable water source for the ore washing process, thereby reducing fresh water consumption and increasing the ratio of recycled water use across the entire mine. For water-scarce areas, recycling treated ore washing wastewater can also significantly lower production operating costs.
Common Problems and PAC Solutions in Mining Wastewater Treatment
The ore properties, water quality composition, and production processes of different mining areas exhibit large variations, so various technical challenges are frequently encountered during wastewater treatment. Below, combined with practical applications, the most common problems faced by mining enterprises are analyzed, and the corresponding PAC solutions are introduced.
Problem 1: Fine clay particles remain suspended for a long time, resulting in low sedimentation efficiency
Many mines, especially those with high clay contents in the ore bodies, generate a large volume of ultra-fine particles during the beneficiation process. These particles have extremely small particle sizes and high stability, making it difficult to achieve effective separation even after long sedimentation times. Traditional aluminium sulphate (alum) usually requires strict pH conditions to exert a good effect, whereas mine wastewater quality fluctuates heavily, making the treatment effect prone to disruption.
PAC Solution: PAC can maintain stable coagulation performance within a pH range of 5.0 to 9.0. By rapidly neutralizing the surface charge of particles, it promotes fine clay and silt particles to form larger floc clusters. Even if the water quality in the mining area experiences certain fluctuations, it can still maintain a high sedimentation efficiency, reducing the workload of frequently adjusting operating parameters.
Problem 2: Thickener overflow water turbidity is too high, affecting recycling and utilization
When thickener operational efficiency is insufficient, a large amount of fine particles will follow the overflow water into subsequent production systems, which not only affects the grinding and flotation processes but may also increase the risks of equipment wear and scaling.
PAC Solution: Dosing an appropriate amount of PAC at the thickener inlet can significantly improve the flocculation effect, causing particles to settle rapidly, obtaining clearer overflow water, improving process circulating water quality, and increasing the recycling ratio.
Problem 3: Wastewater turbidity rises suddenly during heavy rains
When the rainy season arrives in mining areas, large amounts of mud and sand enter the drainage system, causing wastewater turbidity to rise rapidly within a short time, which traditional chemical agents often fail to respond to in time.
PAC Solution: Because PAC possesses rapid coagulation characteristics, it can form stable flocs within a short timeframe, allowing it to respond more quickly to high-turbidity shock loads, helping the treatment system maintain stable operation, and reducing the impact of heavy rains on production and environmental discharge.
Problem 4: High sludge production increases tailings management costs
Some mines generate a large volume of sludge after adopting traditional coagulants, which not only increases the load on the tailings pond but also raises expenses for sludge dewatering, transportation, and final disposal.
PAC Solution: Practical applications show that under the same treatment objectives, PAC can reduce sludge production by 30% to 50%. The reduction in sludge volume means lowered operating pressure on the tailings pond, while also effectively controlling long-term operating costs and improving the overall economic benefits of the mine.
Recommended PAC Dosage and Application Guide in Mining Wastewater Treatment
In the process of mining wastewater treatment, there is no uniform standard for the dosage of PAC (Polyaluminium Chloride). Ore types, suspended particle sizes, water quality composition, pH value, and treatment goals will all affect the final usage amount. Therefore, the recommended dosages can only serve as a preliminary reference, and optimization should still be conducted via Jar Tests prior to formal operation.
A scientific dosing scheme can not only fully exert the coagulation performance of Polyaluminium Chloride (PAC), but can also reduce chemical waste, lower operating costs, and improve the treatment efficiency of tailings wastewater and process circulating water.
Recommended PAC Dosages for Different Mining Wastewater Treatment Scenarios
The following table lists the typical reference dosage ranges of PAC in different mining applications (values are kept exactly identical to the original text):
| Application Scenario | Recommended PAC Dosage |
| Tailings pond clarification | 20–60 mg/L |
| Thickener feed conditioning | 15–40 mg/L |
| Acid mine drainage treatment | 30–80 mg/L |
| Mine site runoff treatment | 20–50 mg/L |
| Ore washing wastewater clarification | 25–60 mg/L |
It should be noted that the above data only apply as references for general working conditions. For different types of mines, such as iron ore, copper ore, gold ore, lead-zinc ore, coal mines, and sand and gravel aggregate mines, because the properties of the slurry vary significantly, the final optimal dosage must be determined based on actual test results.
Why Must a Jar Test Be Conducted?
Many mining enterprises, when replacing coagulants, tend to directly reference data from other projects for dosing. However, even if the treatment scale is identical, the water quality composition of different mining areas can be completely different.
For example:
Different ore types;
Different clay contents;
Different proportions of ultra-fine particles;
Different alkalinity and hardness of the water body;
Different pH value fluctuation ranges;
Changes in turbidity caused by seasonal variations.
Therefore, before formally using PAC coagulant, a representative Jar Test (ASTM D2035) should be conducted to determine the optimal chemical dosage and operating parameters by simulating on-site working conditions. The Jar Test can not only help select the most economical chemical dosage, but can also evaluate floc formation speed, sedimentation effects, and effluent quality in advance, providing a basis for stable on-site operation.
Standard PAC Dosing Flow
In order to fully exert the performance of PAC in mine wastewater treatment, operations should follow a reasonable coagulation process.
Step 1: Conduct a Jar Test Before formal production, representative mining wastewater samples should be selected for experiments. Through different PAC concentration combinations, observe: floc formation speed, floc size, sedimentation time, supernatant turbidity, and the optimal economic dosage. This process can effectively reduce on-site commissioning time and improve subsequent operational stability.
Step 2: Rapid Mixing for PAC Dosing PAC should be dosed at a position where the water flow turbulence is strong, allowing the chemical to disperse rapidly and uniformly. Recommended rapid mixing conditions are as follows:
G value: 200–400 s⁻¹
Mixing time: 30–60 seconds Rapid mixing helps PAC quickly contact suspended particles to complete charge neutralization, creating good conditions for subsequent flocculation.
Step 3: Slow Flocculation Reaction After completing rapid mixing, the wastewater enters the flocculation stage. It is recommended to control:
G value maintained at 20–60 s⁻¹
Flocculation time: 15–25 minutes Slower agitation can prevent the already formed flocs from being sheared and broken, while promoting more fine particles to combine into larger flocs, improving sedimentation efficiency.
Step 4: Sedimentation or Thickening Treatment After sufficient flocculation, the wastewater enters sedimentation tanks, thickeners, or clarification equipment. The formed large-particle flocs can settle rapidly, achieving solid-liquid separation and providing clearer effluent for tailings return water and circular utilization.
Better Results when PAC and PAM Are Used Jointly
Currently, most modern mines do not use PAC alone, but instead adopt a combined PAC+PAM process. This combination has been widely applied in: tailings wastewater treatment, gold mine tailings return water, copper mine beneficiation circulating water, iron ore thickeners, ore washing wastewater treatment, and high-clay mineral treatment.
PAC is primarily responsible for rapid coagulation, while PAM further enhances the floc structure, connecting fine particles to form more stable large floc clusters.
The combined use of PAC and PAM usually possesses the following advantages:
✔ Improves floc strength;
✔ Increases floc size;
✔ Accelerates sedimentation speed;
✔ Improves filter press dewatering efficiency;
✔ Reduces comprehensive chemical consumption;
✔ Ameliorates circulating water clarification effects.
For ultra-fine clay particles with a particle size of less than 2μm, this combined process can usually achieve better treatment results, and has thus become a mature process scheme for many large mining enterprises.
What Are the Advantages of PAC Compared to Alum?
In the past, many mines adopted aluminium sulphate (alum) as a coagulant, but with increasing environmental requirements and the need for operating cost control, more and more enterprises have begun upgrading to the PAC treatment process. Below are the main differences between the two coagulants in mining wastewater treatment.
| Comparison Item | Polyaluminium Chloride (PAC) | Alum (Aluminium Sulphate) |
| pH Adaptation Range | Maintains good treatment effects within the 5.0–9.0 range | Narrow applicable range, sensitive to water quality changes |
| Flocculation Speed | Fast floc formation speed | Relatively slow |
| Sludge Production Volume | Reduced by 30%–50% | Large sludge volume |
| Low-Temperature Performance | Maintains stable performance below 10°C | Efficiency drops significantly under low-temperature conditions |
| Circulating Water Quality | Easier to obtain low-turbidity effluent | Relative water quality stability is lower |
| Comprehensive Operating Cost | Conducive to reducing long-term operating costs | Higher subsequent sludge treatment costs |
For modern mines, PAC can not only improve the coagulation effect but can also reduce the workload of sludge treatment and enhance the utilization rate of circulating water, making it increasingly recognized by mining enterprises.
PAC Replaces Traditional Coagulants, Creating Long-Term Value for Mines
For mine water treatment systems that have been running for many years, upgrading the coagulant does not mean that the entire set of equipment must be replaced. In most cases, Polyaluminium Chloride (PAC) can be directly applied to existing chemical dosing systems, merely requiring re-optimization of the dosage and operating parameters according to the new chemical characteristics.
Generally speaking, switching from traditional alum to PAC mainly involves the following tasks:
Completing a Jar Test;
Adjusting chemical dosing concentration;
Calibrating metering equipment;
Optimizing operating parameters;
Conducting simple training for operators.
The entire conversion process is usually quite fast and can be completed in a short time without large-scale equipment modifications, thereby helping mining enterprises rapidly lift wastewater treatment efficiency.
Chapter Summary
Through the rational selection of PAC dosage, standardizing chemical dosing procedures, and combining with PAM for synergistic treatment, mining enterprises can further enhance the treatment effects of tailings wastewater and process circulating water, lower sludge treatment costs, and improve overall operating efficiency. Meanwhile, compared with traditional alum, PAC possesses more distinct advantages in adapting to complex water quality, low-temperature operation, and long-term economics, making it one of the vital coagulants in modern mining wastewater treatment.
(FAQ)
1. Which types of mining wastewater is Polyaluminium Chloride (PAC) applicable to?
Polyaluminium Chloride (PAC) is applicable to most mining wastewater treatment scenarios, including tailings wastewater, beneficiation circulating water, mine drainage, ore washing wastewater, mine surface runoff, and sand and gravel aggregate processing wastewater, among others. For wastewater containing a large volume of suspended particles, clay, silt, and ultra-fine mineral particles, PAC can usually achieve good coagulation and sedimentation effects. At the same time, it is also suitable for multiple industries such as gold mines, copper mines, iron mines, lead-zinc mines, coal mines, nickel mines, and non-metallic mines.
2. Can PAC treat Acid Mine Drainage (AMD)?
Yes, it can. PAC can effectively remove suspended solids in acid mine drainage, improving wastewater clarity. If the wastewater contains heavy metals such as iron, aluminium, and manganese, it is recommended to control the pH within 7.5 to 9.0 during the treatment process, allowing some metal ions to form co-precipitates, which increases the overall removal efficiency. For acid mine drainage with high heavy metal concentrations or complex compositions, it is usually recommended to adopt a combined process of PAC + lime neutralization to obtain more stable treatment effects.
3. Is PAC suitable for treating wastewater generated from ores with high clay content?
Highly suitable. High-clay ores easily generate a large amount of particles with extremely small particle sizes and negative charges during processing. These particles have slow natural sedimentation speeds and represent one of the most common problems in mining wastewater treatment. PAC can rapidly neutralize the surface charge of particles, promoting fine particles to form larger flocs. For ultra-fine clay particles with a particle size smaller than 2μm, it is recommended to adopt a PAC + Anionic Polyacrylamide (APAM) two-stage coagulation-flocculation process, which can usually achieve more ideal sedimentation effects.
4. Does PAC have to be used together with PAM?
Not all projects require joint use. For mining wastewater with high turbidity and larger particle sizes, using PAC alone can achieve good treatment effects. If the wastewater contains a large volume of ultra-fine particles, colloids, or clay, or if there is a need to increase sedimentation speed and improve filter press dewatering performance, it is recommended to use it in cooperation with Polyacrylamide (PAM). PAC is mainly responsible for coagulation, while PAM is mainly responsible for bridging flocculation, and the synergistic action of the two can further increase solid-liquid separation efficiency.
5. How is the PAC dosage determined?
There is no uniform optimal dosage for different mines. Ore properties, suspended solids concentration, water temperature, pH value, water quality fluctuations, and treatment goals will all affect the final chemical demand. Therefore, it is recommended to conduct an ASTM D2035 Jar Test prior to formal operation, optimizing the PAC dosage according to actual water samples to obtain the best treatment effect and lowest operating cost.
6. Can PAC directly replace alum?
In most mining wastewater treatment systems, yes, it can. For mines that have already adopted alum as a coagulant, there is generally no need to replace the primary treatment equipment; switching can be completed merely by re-conducting Jar Tests, optimizing chemical dosages, and adjusting operating parameters. Compared with traditional alum, PAC usually features the following advantages:
Wider pH adaptation range;
Faster flocculation speed;
Sludge production volume reduced by 30% to 50%;
Maintains stable flocculation performance below 10°C;
Conducive to lowering tailings management and sludge treatment costs.
How to Successfully Complete PAC Replacement and System Optimization?
For enterprises planning to upgrade mining wastewater treatment systems, replacing the coagulant is not just a product substitution, but should be integrated with overall optimization based on on-site working conditions. It is usually recommended to implement according to the following flow:
Phase I: Water Sample Testing Analyze the suspended solids concentration, particle size distribution, pH value, and main pollutant composition in the wastewater.
Phase II: Jar Test Utilize representative water samples to screen the optimal PAC model and recommended dosage, and verify the sedimentation effect.
Phase III: On-Site Commissioning Optimize the PAC dosing point, mixing intensity, flocculation time, and sedimentation effect according to actual operating conditions.
Phase IV: Continuous Technical Optimization When ore properties, seasons, or treatment scales change, adjust the chemical scheme in time to ensure long-term stable operation of the system.
Through standardized technical services, mining enterprises can not only obtain better treatment effects but can also lower chemical consumption, reduce sludge treatment expenses, and elevate process water utilization efficiency.
Conclusion
As the mining industry's requirements for environmental discharge, water resource recycling, and operating cost control continue to rise, efficient and stable coagulants have become an important component of mining wastewater treatment systems. As a mature inorganic polymer coagulant, Polyaluminium Chloride (PAC) plays an increasingly vital role in tailings wastewater, mine drainage, ore washing wastewater, and process circulating water treatment by virtue of its advantages such as fast flocculation, wide water quality adaptation range, stable low-temperature performance, and low sludge generation.
Practices show that under the same treatment objectives, PAC can not only improve wastewater clarification efficiency but can also reduce sludge production by 30% to 50%, helping mining enterprises cut down tailings management and sludge disposal costs. Meanwhile, PAC can maintain good treatment performance within a pH range of 5.0 to 9.0 and possesses stable flocculation effects even below 10°C, making it suitable for mine projects in different regions and complex working conditions.
For enterprises wishing to lift process water utilization rates, optimize treatment processes, and lower comprehensive operating costs, scientifically choosing PAC products and combining them with Jar Tests to optimize dosing schemes will help achieve more efficient, economical, and sustainable mining wastewater treatment.
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