Method for producing organophilic saponite clay

Resource-saving processing of saponite pulp from tailings storage facilities to produce concentrate and organophilic saponite clay.

General information

Contacts

General information

Developer: Saint Petersburg Mining University

Industry

Gas Industry, Mining, Oil and Gas Industry, Processing of Mineral and Technogenic Raw Materials

Project research team

Head: Olga Sergeevna Zubkova Research Team: Maria Andreevna Toropchina, Vyacheslav Nikolaevich Kuchin, Igor Nikolaevich Pyagay

Scientific novelty

A resource-saving technology for processing saponite pulp from tailings dams using hydrocyclone enrichment has been developed to obtain a concentrate with an increased magnesium content. By selecting the type of modifier, the key property of the material is completely changed — from hydrophilic to hydrophobic and vice versa.

Advantages

1) Source of raw materials — industrial waste (tailings). This requires no new mining, which drastically reduces the cost of raw materials to near zero (costs only for processing); 2) Inexhaustible raw material base. The volumes of accumulated tailings are enormous and sufficient for multi-year scaled production. The proposal is not just a material, but a technological platform for creating environmentally friendly, high-performance, and customized materials with programmable properties from free industrial raw materials, ensuring unprecedentedly low cost and highest competitiveness across multiple markets simultaneously; 3) The project is based on circular economy principles, which is highly attractive in terms of ESG criteria and can provide access to "green" financing and tax incentives.

Commercial implementation

The technology provides a comprehensive solution for processing industrial waste from mining and processing plants to produce structure-forming agents for water-based and hydrocarbon-based drilling fluids (Gazprom Burenie LLC, Titan Group), and sorbents for oil spill remediation and heavy metal extraction (Khimsorbent JSC, Technosorbent LLC).