Treatment of tailing streams
AssigneeThe Chemours Company Fc, LLC
InventorRobert Harvey Moffett
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A process for treating a tailings stream comprising water, solids, and optionally polyacrylamide. The process involves (a) contacting the tailings stream with a silicate source for a pre-determined period of time to form a mixture; b) after a pre-determined period of time of at least 5 minutes, contacting the mixture with an activator to initiate gel formation, wherein the gel entraps the solids within the gel; and c) allowing the gel to strengthen and solidify; wherein the gel formation is delayed compared with a non-delayed process.
Claims18
A process for treating a tailings stream comprising water, solids, and optionally polyacrylamide, comprising:
- (a) contacting the tailings stream with a silicate source to form a mixture;
- b) after a pre-determined period of time of at least 5 minutes, contacting the mixture with an activator to initiate gel formation, wherein the gel entraps the solids within the gel;
- and c) allowing the gel to strengthen and solidify.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.