BQE Water Inc. reported that a new full scale Selen-IX plant located at the Coeur Wharf mine in South Dakota, USA had passed the performance test and began routine operation. This latest Selen-IX Plant set a record time for implementation of 20 months between the design engineering kick-off to the discharge of on-spec water into the environment. The plant is designed to treat between 150 to 400 gallons of influent water per minute, removing selenium to a discharge limit of less than 5 ppb (parts per billion).
The performance test was very thorough and involved plant operation at the minimum, nominal, and maximum flowrates and selenium concentrations artificially spiked to double the current and historical levels. The plant has now entered routine operations under long-term support from BQE Water to ensure that the plant continues to perform and comply with regulatory requirements. Selen-IX??
was selected for this project over biological selenium reduction systems due to several factors including: ability to avoid reliance on dilution by meeting the in-stream limit directly at the end of pipe, performance unaffected by cold water temperatures, ability to operate in intermittent mode, ability to handle large and rapid fluctuations in feed flow, and minimization of residue management costs. The project showcases BQE Water's agility and the capability of the patented Selen-IX technology which enabled the mine site to start discharging clean water into environment in 20 months from the start of engineering. This would not have been possible without close collaboration and major support received from Coeur's team, and are grateful for all their efforts.
