Advancing sustainable dewatering of fine phosphate tailings: Evaluating xanthan gum, sodium alginate, and carboxymethyl cellulose as flocculating agents

IF 12.4 1区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ENGINEERING, ENVIRONMENTAL Water Research Pub Date : 2025-03-21 DOI:10.1016/j.watres.2025.123526

Abdelilah Bergani , Yassine Ait-Khouia , Asmae El-Bahi , Rachid Hakkou , Mostafa Benzaazoua , Yassine Taha

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Abstract

The management of fine phosphate tailings (FPTs) presents critical environmental and operational challenges, including excessive water loss, dam stability risks, and dependence on synthetic flocculants with environmental concerns. The use of biobased polymers for dewatering offers a sustainable alternative by sustaining tailings management, improving water recovery, and reducing chemical impact on ecosystems. This study systematically evaluates the performance of three eco-friendly flocculants, xanthan gum (XG), sodium alginate (SA), and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), as viable substitutes for synthetic polymers in FPTs dewatering. A comprehensive experimental approach was adopted, assessing settling kinetics, water recovery, and supernatant quality, while elucidating flocculant adsorption mechanisms using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, zeta potential analysis, and adsorption isotherms. Results demonstrate that CMC exhibits the highest dewatering efficiency, achieving the highest water recovery (82.8%), fastest sedimentation rates (5.8 cm/min), and the clearest supernatant (1.2 NTU) due to its strong interactions and complexation with mineral surfaces. This study provides new insights into polymer-mineral interactions, establishing biobased flocculants as a scalable and environmentally responsible solution. By offering a high-performance alternative to synthetic chemicals, these findings contribute to the advancement of green technologies in mining, supporting sustainable tailings management, water conservation, and reduced chemical dependency, in alignment with global sustainability objectives for eco-friendly mineral processing.

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推进细粒磷酸盐尾矿可持续脱水：黄原胶、海藻酸钠和羧甲基纤维素作为絮凝剂的评价

细磷酸盐尾矿（FPTs）的管理提出了严峻的环境和操作挑战，包括过度失水、大坝稳定风险以及对合成絮凝剂的依赖与环境问题。使用生物基聚合物进行脱水，通过维持尾矿管理、提高水回收率和减少对生态系统的化学影响，提供了一种可持续的替代方案。本研究系统评价了黄原胶（XG）、海藻酸钠（SA）和羧甲基纤维素（CMC）三种环保型絮凝剂作为合成聚合物在FPTs脱水中的可行替代品的性能。采用综合实验方法，评估沉降动力学、水回收率和上清质量，同时利用傅里叶变换红外（FTIR）光谱、zeta电位分析和吸附等温线阐明絮凝剂的吸附机理。结果表明，由于CMC与矿物表面的强相互作用和络合作用，CMC具有最高的脱水效率，达到最高的水回收率（82.8%），最快的沉积速率（5.8 cm/min）和最清澈的上清（1.2 NTU）。这项研究为聚合物-矿物相互作用提供了新的见解，建立了生物基絮凝剂作为可扩展和环保的解决方案。通过提供一种高性能的合成化学品替代品，这些发现有助于矿业绿色技术的进步，支持可持续的尾矿管理，节约用水，减少对化学物质的依赖，与环保矿物加工的全球可持续发展目标保持一致。

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来源期刊

Water Research 环境科学-工程：环境

CiteScore

20.80

自引率

9.40%

发文量

1307

审稿时长

38 days

期刊介绍： Water Research, along with its open access companion journal Water Research X, serves as a platform for publishing original research papers covering various aspects of the science and technology related to the anthropogenic water cycle, water quality, and its management worldwide. The audience targeted by the journal comprises biologists, chemical engineers, chemists, civil engineers, environmental engineers, limnologists, and microbiologists. The scope of the journal include: •Treatment processes for water and wastewaters (municipal, agricultural, industrial, and on-site treatment), including resource recovery and residuals management; •Urban hydrology including sewer systems, stormwater management, and green infrastructure; •Drinking water treatment and distribution; •Potable and non-potable water reuse; •Sanitation, public health, and risk assessment; •Anaerobic digestion, solid and hazardous waste management, including source characterization and the effects and control of leachates and gaseous emissions; •Contaminants (chemical, microbial, anthropogenic particles such as nanoparticles or microplastics) and related water quality sensing, monitoring, fate, and assessment; •Anthropogenic impacts on inland, tidal, coastal and urban waters, focusing on surface and ground waters, and point and non-point sources of pollution; •Environmental restoration, linked to surface water, groundwater and groundwater remediation; •Analysis of the interfaces between sediments and water, and between water and atmosphere, focusing specifically on anthropogenic impacts; •Mathematical modelling, systems analysis, machine learning, and beneficial use of big data related to the anthropogenic water cycle; •Socio-economic, policy, and regulations studies.