LIFE BRINE-PRIMING Actions

This project aims to facilitate the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the Circular Economy package, by enabling the coal mining industry to improve its wastewater management performance in a way which yields cost-effective, resource efficient and legally compliant results. This will be achieved through the development and application of an economically viable, innovative system for the elimination and full recovery of resources included in the coal mining wastewater, at source. The system will be able to treat and directly recover end-products (minerals/salts and water) of high quality and purity. In the course of the project, the consumers of the materials recovered will be involved in order to ensure that the end-products will satisfy market specifications and that the recovered materials are exploited. The project will be implemented in Poland.

Specific objectives are to:

  • Objective 1 – Decrease the discharge of coal mine brine effluent that would otherwise be released into surface water, thus contributing to the objectives of Water Framework Directive and other water environmental policy
  • Objective 2 – Successfully establish of a value chain for wastewater based minerals
  • Objective 3 – Demonstrate a new, economically sound and industrially relevant solution for materials recovery from coal mine brines
  • Objective 4 – Minimise solid by-product and subsequent needs of landfilling
  • Objective 5 – Sign 1 commercial agreement/Memorandum of Understanding for industrial-scale implementation
  • Objective 6 – Replicate and transfer of project results in two industrial sectors
  • Objective 7 – Establish a spin-off company for the commercial uptake of the project results
  • Objective 8 – Raise awareness and disseminate the project results through organized site visits
  • Objective 9 – Scale-up and deliver the disruptive innovative technology that was developed in SOL-BRINE project (LIFE09 ENV/GR/000299) to the market
  • Objective 10 – Water Reuse
  • Objective 11 – Recovery of the resources included in saline wastewaters
  • Objective 12 – Production of final dry salts and clean water for further market use
  • Objective 13 – Introduction of a novel technique for sustainable wastewater management in the coal mining industry
  • Objective 14 – Development of a circular economy plan for the coal mining sector