MGX Minerals and engineering partner PurLucid Treatment Solutions have announced that a second deployment of an advanced wastewater treatment system is near completion and commissioning is expected shortly.

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Image: MGX Minerals announces Oilsands Lithium extraction and wastewater treatment system deployments. Photo courtesy of Pixabay.

The system is capable of processing up to 10m3 per hour. The system will significantly reduce greenhouse gases through energy savings on steam generation. The technology provides superior treatment outcomes when compared to conventional technology which requires offsite trucking and high cost (due to toxicity) disposal. The technology can treat the water in line, under temperature and pressure, without cooling water first and is a paradigm shift advancement in waste water management and oilsands operations. This will result in significantly less energy use for water treatment, reduction in greenhouse gases and also eliminate a major operational challenge of a (“SAGD”) facility, which is heat exchanger fouling.

Mobilization of a third system, capable of processing 10m3 per hour to extract lithium from brine, is also being finalized. This lithium can be extracted by the technology once the water is cleaned of oil and bitumen as result of the front-end water treatment system processing. Commencement of lithium extraction will occur as this customer comes online.

MGX has developed a rapid lithium extraction technology eliminating or greatly reducing the physical footprint and investment in large, multi-phase, lake sized, lined evaporation ponds, as well as enhancing the quality of extraction and recovery across a complex range of brines as compared with traditional solar evaporation. This technology is applicable to petrolithium (oil and gas wastewater), natural brine and other brine sources such as lithium-rich mine and industrial plant wastewater.

PurLucid’s exclusively licensed and patented nanoflotation technology was designed specifically for oilfield environments. The technology separates impurities from oil and gas wastewater and produces clean water as a final product. This allows for the recycling or controlled release of oilfield wastewater and reduces or eliminates downhole and associated transportation costs. Water handling costs are one of the largest operating costs in the oilfield and oilsands operations today.

Source: Company Press Release.