Strengthening: Comparison of the technical, economic and environmental efficiency of two technologies: biosorption and membranes, for the elimination of heavy metals of mining mining sewage

The gold mines use more than four million liters per day (157 m3/h) of water for compensation (make-up) and operations, causing considerable stress in the environment and the surroundings. For this reason, it is simple to understand why the global mining water market spends more than 7000 million dollars every year. Mining activity threw toxic metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, copper, arsenic and chrome, very harmful to human health and for most life forms. These metals can be detected in the environment in their elementary state, which implies that they are not subject to biodegradation or formation of saline complexes, so in these circumstances they cannot be mineralized. Once issued, they can remain in the environment for hundreds of years. The toxicity of heavy metals and their effect on the ecosystem have generated in recent years a considerable increase in studies related to the elimination of these elements. The Government of Ecuador is encouraging mining activity mainly in regard to gold extraction.

STRENGTHENING RESEARCH GROUPS