When it comes to engineering solid-liquid separation technology, Flottweg holds the crown. Global Mining Manager Stephen Benyo, Mining Field Sales Engineer Robert Klug and Division Manager Florian Gabriel Schedlbauer explained how Flottweg is aiding the mining sector and its surrounding communities. Report by Imogen Ward.
Flottweg has dedicated the last 75 years to developing a strong portfolio of centrifuges that have been crucial to the evolution of a diverse range of industries, including mining.
“We produce around 800 centrifuges a year, with recovery and process optimisation our main goal,” said Mining Field Sales Engineer Robert Klug. “Demand from the mining sector has grown significantly over the last decade, driven by the increasing emphasis on environmental protection. Our technology is the perfect solution to support customers on this journey.”
Water problems
Flottweg has been selling to the global mining sector for 35 years and has successfully installed more than 350 mining-focused machines. The most popular of which, the solid bowl centrifuges with Flottweg’s mining-ready package, the Z-Series, are a reliable and efficient solution for solid-liquid separation in mining applications.
“In a mine operation, ore is processed through a series of ball mills, grinders and crushing apparatuses, referred to as comminution,” explained Global Mining Manager Stephen Benyo. “When it reaches this point in
the process, the most efficient way of transporting the finely-ground material is via water pipelines. The amount of water needed, and the cost of it, can be a major burden on the local water tables. Our technology enables a more efficient use of water and decreases the mine’s consumption drastically.”
Given the harsh mining environment, Flottweg’s centrifuge has specialised wear protection.
“Providing our machines with a standardised mining spec package was a must,” said Division Manager Florian Gabriel Schedlbauer. “Flottweg is a technology leader for good reason, and this perfectly exemplifies why. We always use our experience to learn and improve.”
This dedication to improvement is incredibly important as Flottweg’s technology must withstand an indefinite variation of abrasiveness over several decades, with every scoop of earth to be processed by a mine being different from the last.
A new solution
Having already mastered the development of two-phase and three-phase centrifuges for mining operations, Flottweg developed a nozzle separator to perform a liquid-solid separation without additional aid of costly chemicals (polymer or flocculants), to further enhance water recovery and reduce production costs.
When it comes to mineral and ore extraction, the declining ore grade available in the world has meant that mining companies must dig deeper and more frequently to amass enough ore to process. To achieve this, they rely on advanced processes, which result in a more
finely-ground material, known as ‘fines’ and ‘ultra-fines.’
“Because the water is contaminated with fines and ultra fines, it cannot be redistributed back into the local water table or reused at the plant,” explained Mr. Benyo. “This leaves the mining companies with an excess of dirty water that they need to dispose of. The historic solution? A tailings dam, which holds incredible amounts of wasted water. The dam is a huge risk to surrounding communities.
“Together, our two-phase centrifuge and nozzle separator can be installed in front of a tailings dam to conduct solid-liquid separation. This means valuable resources can be successfully recovered or recycled and the water can be recirculated back into the operation or discharged safely into the local water table.”
The combination of the two solutions is incredibly cost-efficient, with the additional installation of nozzle separator often paying for itself in less than a year.
As the mining industry prepares to increase production rates twentyfold in the coming decades – leading to a corresponding surge in waste – efficient separation solutions are critical.
Flottweg is actively advocating for this waste to be recycled into sustainable building materials, to support an eco-friendlier and resource-efficient industry. With initial development starting two years ago, Flottweg has worked tirelessly to trial its nozzle separator, ensuring it is up to par.
“The initial results are very promising,” said Mr. Klug. “All going well, we will roll this product out over the next few months, before taking it global in 2026.”
As the industry continues to seek solutions to improve its environmental footprint, Flottweg remains at the forefront, providing advanced technology that promises to be effective.
Flottweg’s solutions have been involved in several signficant projects, including a sand and gravel installation in France. This location, which was inclusive of a quarry and wash plant, had received a prefectural decree, which required it to reduce annu-
al water consumption from 150,000m3 to 100,000m3.
Primed to tackle the challenge, Flottweg employed its largest centrifuge, Z92. This system successfully meets the 33% reduction request, with the support of other water recovery technologies, then maintained this performance while operating at peak efficiency for the past six years.
Likewise, Flottweg helped save significant amounts of water for a customer based in
Argentina. Located in Patagonia, a very dry area with little annual rain, this location was importing water from 200km away (a very costly and time-consuming process).
“With our technology, the company could successfully recover 100m3 of water every hour,” shared Mr. Klug. “This accounted for a quarter of its total hourly water consumption – a significant achievement that led to substantial cost savings.”
Flottweg has also been actively seeking a solution for acid mine drainage (AMD). A common challenge for both active and former mining communities, AMD is highly acidic water that drains from mines. Due to its contact with the ground, this water often contaminates nearby groundwater and surface water, which is harmful for humans, flora and fauna.
Active treatment plants are a strong solution to this serious global crisis. However, they are costly and time-consuming to implement. To overcome this dilemma, Flottweg become the first company to market a mobile treatment system, in addition to its leading role in active plant installations.
“Treatment plants work to neutralise the water and then rely on our centrifuges to de-water any solids that are present,” said Mr. Benyo. “We installed a treatment plant in Peru around a year ago, which has been
busy de-watering an AMD stream from a large mine site. Flottweg learned a great deal from this project and understands there is huge demand for these plants.
Due to the demand for better solutions, Flottweg developed a trailer-mounted system, so it can be easily moved from one location to another where smaller amounts of AMD can be treated locally. This is a truly groundbreaking manoeuvre, to deal with small projects especially when you consider that most existing AMD legacy sites have been unable to implement a long-term solution, due to the lack of technology and funding that only became available in the last decade.
Flottweg intends to continue collaborating on important projects that seek to improve the industry’s environmental impact, as well as standing ready to keep growing.
“We see an opportunity to pair our equipment alongside a significant improvement in surface water around the world, and we will continue to be leaders in this regard,” said Mr. Schedlbauer, in conclusion. “The demand is present and growing, as awareness of the challenges facing AMD becomes clear. We have the technology that has proven to improve our world, and we see it as our responsibility to be a part of the solution.” n
