| CLIENT | Transmountain |
| LOCATIONS | Spread 5b, Hope BC |
| PROJECT RELEVANCE | Drill mud treatment ESG Water treatment |
| CONTRACT VALUE | $1,200,000 |
| SCHEDULE | Start Date: February 2023 End Date: May 2023 |
PROJECT PROFILE
KBL was contracted to treat drill mud from the 2,295m horizontal drill crossing at Mountain 3 as part of the Transmountain Pipeline. The waste mud had a high solids content with a high pH (10 – 11), along with total and dissolved metal contamination, of which included Arsenic, Beryllium, Cobalt, Iron, Manganese, Mercury, Selenium, Titanium, Zinc, Chromium, and Aluminum. The aim of the project was to reduce the need to truck the waste off site for disposal.
SCOPE OF WORK
KBL designed a system to dewater the material using a series of chemical additives to condition the drill mud for dewatering via filter press. The solid content was separated and stacked for offsite disposal, while the filtrate water was treated for heavy metal contamination using an ion exchange vessel.
PROJECT CHALLENGES
The material frequently changed in viscosity due to the varying levels of drill mud additives, this altered the chemical doses required to suitably condition the mud for filter pressing, resulting in under/overdosing the chemicals and slowing down the production. The water discharge criteria was also changed multiple times and led to a series of system redesigns using different equipment and chemicals.
PROJECT SUCCESS
Due to the complex makeup of the waste material and the changing water discharge limits, the project led to the development of multiple drill mud treatment protocols which could be applied in conjunction with site specific discharge criteria for future projects.
