A new water treatment system, the first to be used in a North American coal mine, is being implemented by CONSOL Energy Inc. in one of the America's largest coal mines. The Buchanan coal mine in Oakwood, Va., will receive GE's advanced filtration membranes and thermal water treatment technology to treat the mine water, enabling about 99 percent of the water to be reused in part at the company's preparation plant facility. Part of an overall infrastructure upgrade expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2010, GE's zero liquid discharge (ZLD) system is capable of treating up to 1,600 gallons of water per minute utilizing a combination of ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, brine evaporation and salt crystallization technologies. In the process, dissolved minerals in the mine water, largely salt, will be left behind in a crystalline form.
Mine operations will not be impacted during system installation. GE has teamed with building contractor Bowen Engineering Corporation on the project. When in operation, the new system will significantly reduce the volume of mine water that must be managed. Further, it will reduce freshwater demand, as the processed water coming out of the system can be used at the mine's preparation plant facility, reducing the need to obtain water from other sources. The salt that naturally occurs in the mine water will be removed through the filtration process.
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