The Hybridice HIF Filter in Freeze Desalination of Mine Waters: An Overview of Operation, Process Analysis and Research Needs

Abstract

Mine waste water is a serious pollution problem globally in which its treatment and disposal are being researched on. The HybridICE freeze crystallization process is a viable solution to freeze desalination of mine waters. The paper thus presented an overview of the hybridICE HIF filter which is a significant unit operation in the HybridICE Freeze Crystallization process. The filter separates the ice from the slurry. The performance of the filter directly impacts the yield of the whole process and the purity of the recovered ice. The ice faction in the liquid ice slurry feed into the filter must be high for a high yield of ice in the filter. The purity of the ice recovered from the filter must be high. Major process parameters that affect ice fraction will be investigated for optimum ice fraction. The performance of the filter will be evaluated and process parameters will be optimized to improve its performance. The possible optimum dimension of the filter and the filter medium will be specified.

Keywords: HybridICE HIF filter, mine water, operation, process analysis, research needs