ACID MINE DRAINAGE

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Water in tailings dams is often characterised by sulphuric acid solution of iron, aluminum, and heavy metals.

Virotec’s ViroMine™ Technology has proven to be an innovative, efficient, effective and immediately applicable treatment at many mine sites. ViroMine™ Technology has been highly successful in reducing heavy metal concentrations to below regulatory discharge limits and is applicable for the treatment of heavy metals and acidity problems associated with acid rock drainage and tailings dams.

Clients include Aqua Forte, Portugal and Lane Xang, Sepon, Laos.

ACID SCALDING

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Most Acid Sulphate Soils (ASS) through the world have developed over the last 10,000 years along costal lowlands. These types of soils have high levels of iron sulfides (typically iron pyrite, FeS²), which when exposed to air, can oxidise to produce sulfuric acid. This can have a major effect on surrounding land and waterways and in extreme cases can cause destruction of aquatic habitats.

The application of Virotec’s ViroSoil™ Technology to ASS and acid scalded areas has resulted in the successful elimination of scald areas and a reduction of potential acid sulfate soils.

Clients include Club Pelican Golf Course, Australia.

ACID SULPHATE SOILS

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Acid Sulphate Soils are often caused by a variety of internal and external environmental factors and are soils and sediments containing iron sulfides. When exposed to oxygen and H²0 due to any combination of exposure, drainage or disturbance these sulfidic soils and sediments produce sulfuric acid, leading to low water pH (4.0 and below) via leaching from pond floors and/or run off from dykes after heavy rains. ASS releases toxic quantities of iron (Fe), aluminum (Al) and additional heavy metals, which in turn binds phosphates and other nutrients needs for the growth of natural food. ASS inhibits plant growth, can kill aquatic life and corrode steel and concrete infrastructure.

Virotec’s ViroSoil™ Technology application is successful in treating ASS by lowering heavy metal contamination and raising and buffering soil pH. ViroSoil™ Technology is both a short- and long-term solution to the problems of ASS.

Clients include Tomei Prawn Farm, Australia.

BUILDING DEMOLITION AND WASTE TREATMENT SERVICES

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Virotec provides an extensive range of building demolition , waste management (including asbestos removal), and solid hazardous waste management treatment services across Australia.

In addition to providing solutions for hazardous waste and environmental remediation, including the treatment of hazardous industrial solids and on-site contaminated soil treatment, in 2010 Virotec introduced a range of services related to the demolition of disused or derelict industrial buildings, the removal of hazardous waste, such as asbestos and contaminated concrete, and the treatment of the most highly contaminated solid waste, including waste contaminated with lead, arsenic and mercury.

These services are provided in conjunction with Virotec’s industry partner, McMahon Services of Adelaide, South Australia which has a 30-year track record of success in building demolition.

View the Building Demolition and Waste Treatment Services Technical Paper.

COAL MINING

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Results from Virotec’s ten-year work with the coal industry have produced a number of significant outcomes. For example, work in the UK indicated that ViroMine Technology reduced iron in coal wastewater from an average of 44 mg/L to <0.5 mg/L as a result of filtration, and a project at a large coal mine in Australia showed ViroMine Technology reduced aluminium levels from 36.9 mg/L to 0.03 mg/L, iron from 168 mg/L to <0.001 mg/L, nickel from 0.65 mg/L to 0.008 mg/L, and zinc from 0.68 mg/L to 0.002 mg/L. Similarly, results from a coal mine in the UK were even more dramatic, with levels of aluminium falling from 72,000 mg/L to 60 mg/L, copper from 34,000 mg/L to 18 mg/L, and iron from 280,000 mg/L to 10 mg/L.

Clients include Queensland Rail.

CONCENTRATED ANIMAL FEEDING OPERATIONS

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Clients include Smithfield Foods Inc. and Utility Services of South Carolina, USA.

DREDGING

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Often dredging can results in sulphidic marine clays (acid sulphate soils), when stockpiled the material can oxidized and become acidic, resulting in scald and limited vegetation growth.

ViroSoil™ Technology has proven to be readily applicable and successful in the treatment of acidity problems associated with the accumulation of sulphidic marine sediments.

Clients include Gladstone Port Authority, Australia.

FOUNDRIES/SMELTERS

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ViroFlow™ Technology has effectively treated soluble metals in wastewater effluent.

Clients include Nyrstar Zinc Smelter, Australia and H.J. Enthoven and Sons, United Kingdom.

HYDROCARBONS

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Hydrocarbon destruction and heavy metal sequestration using ViroSoil™ Technology is a safe, cost effective and environmentally responsible method dealing with and eliminating hydrocarbon and metals contamination in soils.

Clients include Fulton Hogan, CMC and CEC Constructions, Australia.

LANDFILL

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ViroFlow™ Technology treats mercurous filter cake by binding mercury making it chemically inert and environmentally safe for long-term landfill.

Clients include Thiess Services, Australia.

METAL FINISHING

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ViroFlow™ Technology has a remarkable ability to remove heavy metals (including copper, zinc, tin, iron, nickel and chromium) from electroplating industry process water.

Clients include Advance Plating, USA and Excellent Plating Works and CP Plating, Australia.

MINE WASTEWATER

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Virotec has experienced great success treating mine wastewater using its Acid B™ reagent, that provides a cost-effective way to lower the concentrations of all metals in tailings dams.

Clients include Fox Resources, Lady Annie Mine (Parsons Brinkerhoff) and Lloyd’s North, Australia and Vatukoula Gold Mines, Fiji.

MINE REMEDIATION

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Heavy metal and metalloid contamination are common in sites previously used for mining operations.

ViroMine™ Technology has proved to be a cost-effective and practical solution for remediating former mine sites, to regulatory conditions for resale.

Clients include Uslan Gold Mine, South Korea.

MINE TAILINGS

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For revegetation to occur at mine sites, treatment of contaminated tailings must be undertaken. Virotec has successfully treated high levels of acidity and large amounts of leachable and airborne heavy metals in tailings resulting in successful revegetation.

Projects include King River Delta and Rossarden, Australia.

MINE WASTE ROCK

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Virotec can treat mine waste rock via in-situ immobilisation. This principle adds soil amendments to the root zone of comtaminated waste rock dumps, or where possible, throughout the entire contaminated profile.

Successful projects include Mt Carrington, Australia.

ORGANIC WASTE RESIDUES

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A result of farming is tonnes of organic waste. Virotec has successfully implemented technology that turns dairy farm waste into a valuable product that can be beneficially sold or re-used.

Clients include NADA Dairy Farm, Saudi Arabia.

PAPER MILLS

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Clients include PaperlinX, Australia.

PHOSPHOROUS TREATMENT

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The relationship between phosphorus and eutrophication has been known for many years. ViroSewage™ Technology is a proven sustainable wastewater treatment and produces a reusable soil remediation treatment media.

Clients include Brisbane Water, Australia, Yorkshire Water, United Kingdom and South Florida Water Management, USA.

RAILWAYS

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ViroFlow™ Technology has been implemented successful to treat industrial wastewater, containing high concentrations of coppers, phosphorous, BOD and suspend solids. Results include significant reduction in heavy metal concentrations in discharge water that meets regulatory guidelines, high pH buffering capacity, potential reclassification of sludge, decreased settling times, improved flocculation efficiency and odour reduction.

Clients include Queensland Rail, Australia.

REVEGETATION

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Application of ViroMine™ Technology has resulted in increased pH levels and eliminating the acid generating potential of tailings. ViroMine™ Technology simultaneously neutralises soil acidity and immobilises toxic metals, whilst allowing for sites to be revegetated, decreasing site disturbance and remediation and maintenance costs.

Clients include King River Delta and Cobar Copper, Australia.

ROAD CONSTRUCTION

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Implementation of ViroFlow™ Technology has achieved the elimination of major environmental hazards, the extraction of contaminated water via the vacuum consolidation process, the release of treated water with trace metal concentrations, total suspended solid concentrations and pH that were within regulatory guidelines and fast mobilization with short treatment time.

Clients include Road and Traffic Authority, Australia and Korean Highway, South Korea.

SEWAGE TREATMENT

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Applied to treat wastewater in accordance with EPA discharge limits, ViroSewage™ Technology improves treated effluent quality, removed nutrients and eliminates odour.

Clients include Spotless Services, Amberley RAAF, Richmond Valley Council and QLB Urban Utilities, Australia.

SLUDGE TREATMENT

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Sewage treatment plants that are modified for biological nutrient removal (BNR), release biologically assimilated phosphorous from anaerobically digested sludge. Dewatering this sludge release a phosphate-rich supernatant liquor. A trial in 2003, resulted in the successful removal of phosphorus from influent and effluent streams.

Clients include Redcliffe Shire Wastewater Treatment Plant and Pine Rivers Shire Council, Australia.

SOIL CONDITIONING

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Unusable dredge spoil is a common by product of quarrying, characterised by its mildly acidic properties with a low nutrient value.

ViroSoil™ Technology has proved successful in soil conditioning resulting in significant plant growth, increase in key nutrients, achieving near-neutral acidity, improving moisture retention and soil texture.

Clients include Action Sands and Tryton, Australia.

STEEL MILLS

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Wastewater from the processing and treatment of steel results often has low pH levels and high concentrations of several heavy metals.

The application of ViroFlow™ Technology has demonstrated that it is effective in producing a waste product at a steel mill wastewater treatment plant which was classifies as an ‘inert waste’.

Clients include BlueScope Steel, Australia.

TAILINGS TREATMENT

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It is common for tailings dams to become acidic and enriched in heavy metals as a result of the input of acid mine drainage water from oxidizing waste rock.

Virotec has successfully used in-situ remediation to treat exposed tailings, achieved by neutralising acidity in the oxidised tailings and immobilising potentially hazardous trace elements while adding the necessary organic carbon and nutrients required for plant growth.

Clients include Mt Carrington Tailings Dam and Rossarden, Australia.

TANNERIES

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The effluent produced at tanneries usually has low concentrations of chromium and sulphate, but exhibits high BOD and oil and grease loads with corresponding odour problems.

ViroFlow™ Technology has been utilised at several tanneries resulting in improved wastewater quality the meets all local water authority requirements.

Clients include Tasman Sheepskin Tannery and Birdsall Leather, Australia.

WASTEWATER TREATMENT

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The implementation of ViroFlow™ Technology has resulted in dramatically reduced phosphorous, Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) loads whilst maintaining accurate pH control.

Clients include , Australia.

WASTE ROCK TREATMENT

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A legacy of long-term mining is the formation of extensive Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) plumes. AMD is associated with the weathering and oxidation of pyrite and other sulphide materials. AMD commonly has pH values below 3.0.

Success application of ViroMine™ Technology has resulted in removal of metals and neutralization of acid in AMD water. This technology has proven to be a fast solution for treating AMD water – meeting regulatory standards and producing a water quality 100 times cleaner than drinking water in respect to trace metals.

Clients include Mt Carrington Mines and Thalanga Copper Mine, Australia; Gilt Edge Mine, USA and Baia Mare, Romania.

WOOD PRESERVATION PLANTS

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ViroFlow™ Technology has successfully treated copper, chrome and arsenate (CCA) contaminated water in leachate ponds in several wood preservation plants.

Clients include Koppers Wood Products, Carter Holt Harvey and Dale & Meyers, Australia.