Basic Assessment Report - Transnet

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Transnet LimitedProposed RO Plant: Port of SaldanhaFinal Basic Assessment Report7.4.3 Alternative Options for Disposal of Brine by-productThe following alternatives to discharging the brine back into the Bay have beenidentified and considered by the project team. These primarily consider options fordisposing of the brine by-product via land based alternatives:• Evaporation PondsThe use of evaporation ponds for disposal of brine would allow for the water toevaporate from the brine, leaving salt, which could potentially be harvested. In orderto deal with the volume of brine resulting from the RO plant (estimated at4 400m³/day) initial calculations have indicated that an area of land approximately2km by 2km in size will be required for the location of an evaporation pond of asuitable size. Additional infrastructure associated with the transfer of brine to theevaporation ponds would include pipelines, linings for ponds, pumps, roads, power,earth works, and buildings.The use of sprinklers to assist with evaporation may help to reduce this sizerequirement; however this would increase operational costs, require additional waterand would need to be managed very carefully (e.g. to eliminate the potential effect ofbrine spray on adjoining properties during windy conditions). The volumes of saltgenerated would require some form of disposal or a buyer would need to be found.This option is likely to have a higher (negative) impact on the groundwater in the areashould the brine leak through the evaporation pond into the groundwater table. Inaddition, there is insufficient land area in close proximity to the iron ore handlingfacility that can be used to locate the evaporation ponds, and additional land wouldneed to be purchased, which is likely to make this alternative very costly. If land wereto be purchased it is likely that it would need to be rezoned for the purposes of anevaporator pond resulting in timeframes which are not aligned with the immediateneed. Therefore, this option was not considered either reasonable or viable and waseliminated from the alternatives to be assessed in the BA process.• Piping brine to SaltworksThe possibility of pumping brine to an existing saltworks in the area (e.g. Veldrif,Cerebos), thus allowing for the beneficial use of the brine was identified as an option.This would require agreement with a registered saltworks, as well as confirmation ofsufficient capacity within the salt works to deal with the volumes of brine that wouldbe produced.It was assumed for this option that the RO Plant would be situated inside the port andthe intake would be via intake wells. The discharge pipeline route would follow localroads in the area to avoid disruption to residential infrastructure as far as possibleand to discharge the brine at (either) the Velddrif or Cerebos Salt Works. Amunicipal servitude may also be available for the laying of the pipeline in thisalternative but would be subject to an agreement being reached between Transnet35Prepared by the PDNA/SRK Joint Venture
Transnet LimitedProposed RO Plant: Port of SaldanhaFinal Basic Assessment Reportand Saldanha Bay Municipality. Due to the long pipeline distance, up to sixpumpstations would be needed, and it was assumed that the electrical supply for thepump stations would be available from the nearby residential development. Transnetwould need to reach an agreement with the Velddrif or Cerebos Salt Works in orderto discharge the brine to their works. The anticipated costs of building the dischargepipline to Velddrif for example is R23.2 million, which does not include landacquisition and legal costs.During discussions with Cerebos Salt Works, they indicated that they have an excesscapacity at the works for brine production and their bottle neck is in the salt refinerythus they would not be interested in purchasing the brine by-product from the ROPlant unless they were to upgrade their production. Their daily production isapproximately 140 tons per day of raw salt, which is far lower than the potential 280tons of salt that the RO Plant could deliver. The economic value of the brine isrelatively low because of the concentration of the brine (6.3%) is fairly low(crystallisation of salt starts at 25%).Brine discharge to Velddrif or Cerebos is very costly from a capital cost and anoperational cost point of view due to the distances involved. The requirement toacquire servitudes outside of Transnet National Port Authority land could have longlead times and also be very costly. In addition, the length of the pipeline that will berequired to supply the brine to the salt works, as well as the purchase of land for thepipeline servitude would be excessively high. Possible pipe leakages could affect thereceiving environment, as well as the groundwater systems in the area. The energyrequirement for pumping the brine such a long distance would contribute to theenvironmental impact of the project.For these reasons the option of piping the brine to a salt works was not furtherinvestigated. These additional project related risks are not conducive with theimmediate need for additional water supplies for use in dust suppression measures forcurrent operations.• Evaporator and Crystalliser PlantIn such a plant, an evaporator boils the brine at a low pressure, and the waterevaporates resulting in a brine concentrate product. A crystalliser plant extracts theremaining water from the concentrated brine and produces salt crystals. Evaporatorand crystalliser plants use large quantities of electricity to heat the brine, and are thusvery energy intensive. Such a plant is susceptible to corrosion, and the cost ofmaintaining such a plant would be very high. The remaining salt which would resultfrom this process would need to be stockpiled on the site and would either need to bedisposed of or managed in some other manner.The option of installing an evaporator and crystalliser plant was investigated byTransnet. However, the costs associated with the installation of such a plant36Prepared by the PDNA/SRK Joint Venture
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