Treatment and reuse of coalmine wastewater in Vietnam: Application of microfiltration

Abstract

Due to stringent local regulations and adverse environmental impacts, Vietnamese coal mining industries are under pressure to reuse the large volume of wastewater they produce. To this end, the aim of this study was to add microfiltration (MF) membranes after the conventional Vietnamese coalmine wastewater treatment systems (coagulation/sedimentation/filtration) to assess the feasibility of effluent reuse. The pilot-scale test was performed at a coalmine plant located in Quang Ninh province, Vietnam. Results indicate that precipitation with slaked lime (Ca(OH)2) and polyaluminum chloride (PACl) followed by sand filtration are important pre-treatment steps, prior to microfiltration. To achieve high Mn removals the sand in the filter had to be replaced by a KMnO4 coated sand. The MF membrane produced a stable and high quality effluent that meets the Vietnamese National Technical Regulations for Drinking Water quality (Fe < 0.5 mg/L, Mn < 0.3 mg/L, hardness <350 mg/L as CaCO3). Complete membrane recovery was achieved by sequential 24 h soakings in NaOCl, citric acid and a surfactant.