Refinery effluent water reduction and treatment

This article outlines various projects implemented at Rand Refinery to reduce effluent generation and freshwater consumption. The refinery generates about 2800 m3 of effluent annually and has initiated projects such as granulation water recycle and silver leach optimisation to address these issues. The granulation water recycle project has successfully reduced effluent volumes, while the silver leach optimisation has further decreased effluent by implementing stoichiometric addition of HCl and NaClO3. The vibratory shear enhanced processing (VSEP) trial showed promising results for gold recovery from wastewater, though further trials are recommended. The water savings of the effluent reduction projects are monitored by measuring the amount of effluent pumped to service yard effluent storage facilities with the use of flow meters connected on SCADA. Since the effluent reduction initiative of granulation effluent recycle in FY23, the effluent reduced to 2676 m3. In FY24, the stoichiometric addition of HCl and NaClO3 was implemented in the silver leach process, further reducing the effluent to 2083 m3.