PACT RENEWABLES PTY. LTD.
Saline Waste Reduction and Critical Minerals Recovery Solutions Provider
Phone: +614 20 231 338
Email: info@pactrenewables.com
Our Advisory Services
Saline Waste and Brine Characterisation
Effective characterisation of saline waste requires well-defined sampling protocols to prevent contamination and ensure sample representativeness for analytical validation. Pact Renewables has developed comprehensive sampling, analytical, and MVR protocols, built on over 35 years of industry experience, forming a core component of our QA/QC system.
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Further, the Company employs a proprietary predictive brine quality projection model that enables a clear depiction of the potential impacts of changing diurnal and seasonal climatic parameters on the hydrodynamics (water mixing conditions) and chemical makeup of saline wastes. This model has been rigorously calibrated and validated using samples collected from various dynamic hydrological basins and industrial operations around the globe and applies nearly to all possible inorganic saline waste streams generated in various industries under prevailing climatic and open-pond operating conditions.
Exploring Critical Minerals Recovery Potential from Australian Salt Lake Brines and Effluent Impoundments
We offer the following expert advice on exploring and evaluating the recovery potential of critical minerals (primarily for potassium, magnesium, lithium, uranium, vanadium minerals) from Australian salt lake brines and inorganic effluent impoundments, including preliminary techno-economic assessments for investment decisions and follow-up field testing advice:
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Basin-wide hydro-geological assessment, chemical characterisation of water types in Australian salt lakes and effluent impoundments and scoping-level resource estimation
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Preliminary techno-economic evaluations for mineral products recovery potential of the identified resource using Salpro saline water/wastewater treatment technology, as well as associated lifecycle and risk assessments for informed decisions
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Advice on design and operation of field testing units for preparation of metal concentrates for use in subsequent bench-scale trials, piloting and demonstration of the recovery systems for the target minerals.
Definition of Environmental Impacts and Management Options
We help clients track saline waste impact pathways and design cost-effective mitigation strategies on an informed basis. Our solutions integrate waste treatment, resource recovery, and toxic element removal, often with substantial cost offsets from recovered products.
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Using this approach, along with our expertise and datasets, we are uniquely positioned to avoid the use of default values and information, reducing the unnecessary and costly management decision-making needs. Further, our saline water/wastewater management options are based on consideration of the best-fit application of an integrated approach including saline waste treatment, recovery of valuable products and removal of toxic elements from saline impoundments or leachates from washing of fly ash, APCr and other dust-generating processes. Equally important, by applying our state-of-the-art technology platform, apart from its sustainability advantages, our saline waste management solutions commonly offer significant cost offset components through the incorporation of one or more processing steps for freshwater recovery, generation of commercial-grade mineral and metal products, safe disposal of toxic heavy metals and POPs, or combinations thereof that we identify during the course of our assignment.
Intractable Waste Treatment: Techno-Economic Feasibility and Lifecycle Assessments
These assessments are carried out by a two-way engagement process with our clients to ensure that their requirements and project information are fully understood and communicated before commencement. Our feasibility assessment of the technology-based solutions involves three main components: (a) information collection and screening, (b) description of proposed treatment system option(s) and conceptual design, and (c) cost-benefit analysis of the selected treatment system options, including their comparison using a combination of techno-economic and lifecycle assessments. The feasibility assessments are commonly carried out according to the following two steps, for increasing the accuracy level of the outputs from our projects:
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(1) Desktop scoping/pre-feasibility study incorporating definition of benchmark values, jurisdictional guidelines for toxic or hazardous waste removal, carbon offsetting options, preliminary specifications, a high-level cost-benefit analysis using potential return from the sale of products generated from effluent treatment, and reporting of the findings from preliminary techno-economic and lifecycle cost evaluations.
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(2) Verification of technology-based solutions incorporating the following key components:
• Laboratory-based process and products trials, compilation of resource and product inventories, preliminary products market demand, pricing and risk analysis
• Indicative carbon offset values, where applicable
• Reporting of the findings from technology verification assessments against client’s requirements, which may additionally include the preparation of a treatment system design and costing package and recommendations for follow-up field piloting/demonstration of the selected treatment system and for validation of product streams.
Design and Costing of Technology-Based Production Systems
Pact Renewables is uniquely placed to draw from its past experience and its proven MBC technology to support companies with preparation and costing of design packages for commercial production of mineral-based composites for the following industrial and environmental applications:
• Production of soil-degradable seedling pots from widely available industrial minerals for use by nurseries involved with large-scale supply of seedlings and saplings to agricultural, forestry and agrivoltaic projects
• Production of media for encapsulation and safe landfilling of saline, heavy metal and organic-rich contaminants (POPs including PFAS-laden residuals)
• Production of low-footprint building products
• Production of sustainable media for creating sculptures and decorative/architectural elements.
Pact Renewables also offers bespoke designs and related cost estimates for the production of MBC composites for other applications, according to clients' site-specific needs.
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Other Support Services
We provide bench-scale and pilot-scale validation trials, develop operation manuals and MVR documentation, and assist with technology audits and reporting.
