The Biological Treatment of Brines
COALTECH Project Number: E2024-2
By Coaltech | June 2026
R1500,00
Description
The Biological Treatment of Brines assessed the use of Mintek’s cloSURE® biological sulphate reduction process to treat hypersaline reverse osmosis brine generated by the eMalahleni Water Reclamation Plant. The study demonstrated, at bench scale, that biological sulphate reduction can be sustained under high-salinity brine conditions, offering a potential alternative to evaporation ponds for managing coal mine brine waste. It provides proof of concept and design parameters for future pilot-scale testing, while also highlighting the need for further work on hydrogen sulphide management, calcium removal and potential value recovery from treated brines.
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The Estimation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from South African Surface and Abandoned Coal Mines
2012
Direct sampling across burning, burnt out and rehabilitated dumps at surface mines covering just over half of national surface production, scaled to a national emissions estimate.
What this report foundGas sampling on coal mine dumps found rehabilitation very effective at cutting emissions.
R1500,00
Gas sampling on coal mine dumps found rehabilitation very effective at cutting emissions. Even incomplete rehabilitation held carbon dioxide below about 1 kg per square metre a year, against over 100 on unrehabilitated ground and as much as 7 000 where combustion was active, though burning areas were small. Sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides, ammonia and methane were low.