Ion exchangers can absorb unwanted ions in the water, thanks to selective synthetic resin beads, and release them during a regeneration process. The compact construction of ion exchange plants requires flexible piping solutions and components. GF Piping Systems provides complete solutions of high-quality piping systems warranting a maximum of flexibility while ensuring an entirely safe plant operation with a maximum uptime.

Reverse Osmosis technology is a filtering method by which contaminated water passes through a very fine membrane under high pressure and removes nearly all water pollution, such as minerals, bacteria and any further particles. Due to the fact that it needs no chemicals, energy consumption is low and handling is easy.

Chemicals for this process step require highly specialized and reliable workflows, especially with aggressive chemicals. Concentrated chemicals in small amounts are dosed in-line or through a static mixer that ensures correct dilution in the process. With a selective combination of pressure control valves, flow meters and control instrumentation, a plastic system by GF Piping Systems is easily constructed to customer specifications.

This process used to recover valuable metals from an aqueous solution, typically through the use of activated carbon or other adsorbent materials. The design of these piping systems must consider the chemical compatibility with the leachate, the potential for abrasion from the adsorbent material, and the need for easy maintenance and cleaning.

Leaching involves extraction of a soluble constituent from a solid by solvent. Bacterial Leaching uses naturally-occurring bacteria to harmlessly oxidize ore that is high in sulfides, thus making processing of the ore much easier and more cost effective. GF Piping Systems provides a variety of suitable piping systems as well as measurement and control solutions to tackle this crucial mining application.

Solvent extraction and electrowinning is a two-stage hydrometallurgical process commonly used in mining to extract and recover metals, particularly coppper, but also applied to other metals like cobalt, nickel, zinc, and uranium. GF products are used in chemical processing and transport the liquids as the rafffinate is extremely corrosive to metals.

The evaporation/crystallization process in mining is a method used to extract valuable minerals from a solution by evaporating the solvent and forming crystals of the solute. In lithium extraction, the concentrated brine is processed through a series of chemical treatments or ion exchange processes to extract lithium. GF solutions are ideal to tackle these related process steps due to their chemical resistance of our piping systems as well as our Process Automation portfolio.

Elution in mining, particularly in gold processing, is a critical step where valuable metals are separated from activated carbon. Acid washing removes the target metal from the adsorbent by adjusting pH and temperature. The efficiency of the elution process can significantly impact the overall efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the mining operation.

Water absorbs heat from the process stream by flowing through heat exchangers or jackets surrounding equipment. Chilled water systems by GF Piping Systems can be incorporated for even more effective cooling. Water cooling offers better heat transfer compared to air cooling.