Mining effluents contain high concentrations of toxic metals and salts. Conventional treatment methods—such as filtration or chemical precipitation—often result in sludge with high moisture content and poor recovery of valuable metals. The ClearFlow project emerges to overcome these limitations by integrating innovative technologies and exploring the commercial potential of the by-products generated.
ClearFlow has been awarded funding through the Eureka/Eurostars programme, co-financed by the European Union. Over a 30-month period, the project will develop and validate a hybrid treatment system for mining wastewater, combining electrocoagulation and the ASEC technology. The goal is to obtain high-purity water (with almost complete removal of dissolved metals and salts) and dry solid residues with commercial valorization potential, due to their content in metals, rare earth elements, and other strategic elements.
The international consortium is composed of:
• Water Challenge (Spain), coordinator of the project and owner of the disruptive ASEC technology for evaporation and crystallization processes,
• Hofitech (Slovakia), a technology partner specializing in electrocoagulation and metal separation optimization. (https://www.hofitech.sk/en/)
The proposed solution is energy-efficient,supports circular economy principles, and contributes to environmental protection by preventing contaminated discharges, enabling water reuse, and reducing the volume of solid waste through the production of manageable dry residues.
Figure: Flow diagram of ClearFlow project: The sludge after electro coagulation is treated by ASEC to obtain distilled water and dried solids.
The project is structured around three main phases:
This integrated approach aims to reduce environmental impact, enhance water reuse, and assess the commercial viability of the recovered metals in the form of dry sludge or crystalline products. ClearFlow seeks to demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of this hybrid process for deployment in mining operations and other industrial sectors.
Success Stories at Evolution Innovation: https://evolutioneurope.eu/success-stories/water-challenge-hofitech-clearflow/
