HDD Mud Solidification in Multiple Bore Project
Case Study
Challenge
MetaFLO’s licensee was contracted to provide service on a large Ontario gas distribution upgrade project. Nearly 50 bores were drilled using horizontal directional drilling technology to complete this upgrade. MetaFLO’s licensee was required to process the resulting liquid waste which totaled more than 500,000 gallons of directional drill mud.
Solution
In order to find optimal final disposal costs, the MetaFLO licensee sourced a reclamation project in need of beneficial reuse clean fill centrally located for the drill sites. Operating under the required permits, our licensee used their mobile MetaFLO LMS 3 to perform HDD mud solidification for the non-hazardous waste drill fluid. As a result, our clients enjoyed reduced cost for transportation and disposal, reduced risk by eliminating many trucks and transportation of liquid waste over the road and were compliant with all provincial liquid waste management regulations.
Result
The non-contaminated drill mud was successfully treated with an average reagent dose of under 1.5% (by weight) eliminating the need for further liquid waste treatment. An estimated 1,000 hours of trucking were eliminated as well. Because the treated solids met requirements for beneficial reuse, we were able to prevent the unnecessary landfilling and associated cost to our client of approximately 5,000m3 of clean soil.
Owner: Vale Canada Ltd.
Contractor: Tervita Corp.
Distributor: Di-Corp
Vale owns and operates a mining site in Northern Ontario, Canada. Through their mining and refining activities they produce a sludge waste by-product. The clients were in need of an efficient excavation and transportation solution to get this sludge to their off-site landfill.
End of September 2018 - Mid October 2018
During the bidding process, MetaFLO was engaged to provide an optimal blend and dosage rate to achieve the solids criteria required for excavation and transportation of the sludge. Using analytical data, MetaFLO estimated a dosage rate of 1.1% by weight (based on a high moisture content). Large mixing bins were recommended for increased surface contact and efficiency during the bucket mixing process. No sample was available at this time.
Tervita Corporation utilized MetaFLO reagent to solidify approximately 4,000 m3 of sludge. Two 35m3 bins were staged on site and were loaded with a composite of “heavier” and “lighter” sludges. The originally estimated dosage rate was accurate as actual treatment averaged approximately 30lbs of MetaFLO MF006 reagent per m3 of sludge. All material was safely shipped to Vale’s off-site landfill. The job was completed on time.