Underground Mine Aggregate Emulsion Pumping System
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Solution Overview
Problem
The disposal of chat and tailings from lead and zinc production poses environmental contamination risks due to inefficient underground storage, as the materials accumulate in conical piles and return to the surface as toxic dust, and surface burial is hindered by rock table proximity to the ground.
Innovation Solution
A system that combines aggregate materials with underground water to form an emulsion, pumped at pressures overcoming water forces, creating turbulence for efficient and safe disposal within mine caverns, utilizing existing cavern water to avoid freshwater contamination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If chat and tailings are dumped into mine caverns, then disposal is achieved, but the materials accumulate in conical piles leaving most cavern space unused
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state and flow characteristics of the aggregate material by introducing water to create a slurry. This parameter change allows the material to flow freely rather than pile conically, enabling complete cavern space utilization. The slurry can be pumped through existing mine infrastructure and distributed evenly throughout the cavern volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs hydraulic principles by using water to transport the aggregate material as a slurry through pipes and pumps. This hydraulic system allows the material to be delivered to the cavern and distributed efficiently, maximizing space utilization while maintaining disposal productivity.
2Productivity
If chat and tailings are dumped into mine caverns, then disposal is achieved, but fine metal-bearing dust returns to the surface as toxic contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses hydraulic transport via slurry pipelines to move the aggregate material underground. This closed hydraulic system prevents the material from being exposed to wind and air, eliminating the generation of toxic dust. The slurry is pumped through sealed pipes and discharged underwater in the cavern, containing all potential contaminants underground.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates an inert, water-based environment for transporting and disposing of the aggregate material. By submerging the material in water as a slurry and discharging it underwater in the cavern, the system eliminates contact with air that would otherwise allow toxic dust to form and return to the surface.
3Device complexity
If raw chat is dumped without screening, then the dumping process is simpler, but large particles plug the casings and hinder the process
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the aggregate material by mixing it with water to form a slurry. This parameter change allows large particles to be suspended in the water rather than forming a plug, enabling continuous pumping and dumping without screening. The water acts as a carrier that keeps all particle sizes in suspension throughout the transport process.
4Productivity
If chat and tailings are deposited on the ground surface, then disposal is achieved, but the rock table is too close to the surface allowing insufficient cover
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from surface-level disposal to underground disposal by utilizing the vertical dimension of existing mine caverns. Instead of trying to achieve sufficient cover depth from the surface, the system transports material underground where ample space exists between the rock table and the surface, effectively solving the insufficient overburden problem by changing the spatial dimension of disposal.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables cost-effective, pollution-free, and environmentally safe reclamation of land by maximizing underground storage capacity and preventing surface contamination.
Implementation Method 1
pumping at pressures that overcome the forces of the water in the cavern and create turbulence in the water
Implementation Method 2
pumping at pressures that overcome the forces of the water in the cavern
Implementation Method 3
an apparatus for combining aggregate material, for example, chat or tailings, with water, an emulsion is formed
Data Source
AI summary
A system for disposing of aggregate material in a mine cavern between a mine ceiling and a mine floor includes a first pump for pumping water from the cavern, a second pump for pumping emulsion to the cavern, a gated proportioning mechanism, and a water line extending between the first and second pumps and being accessible at the gated proportioning mechanism such that aggregate in the gated proportioning mechanism is introduced into the water line to form the emulsion. The second pump is configured such that the emulsion is pumped into the cavern at a pressure between about 20 pounds per square inch and about 30 pounds per square inch and settles on the mine floor in a pile having an angle of repose between about 1:1.5 and about 1:3.5. The pressure is insufficient to fracture the mine floor and insufficient to fracture the mine ceiling.