Lafarge Brookfield plant may make use of frack wastewater

The Lafarge Brookfield cement plant in Nova Scotia has put forward a proposal for a pilot project to use frack wastewater in the kiln. Plant Manager, Scarth MacDonnell has told local newspaper, Truro Daily News, that the plant wants to put itself forward as ‘a potential solution provider to this issue of this flowback fluid that people have been dealing with for a couple of years’. In response to local concerns about the contents of the wastewater, he added “We are going to treat the water in a kiln that takes material up to 1300 degrees Celcius. Complete destruction. If there are any heavy materials or heavy particles, they will become sintered in the limestone clinker”. MacDonnell said this was a low-cost solution to disposing of the wastewater, which has been held in containment lagoons at Atlantic Industrial Sevices (AIS) in Debert, around 30 km from the plant.

An earlier proposal by AIS to dispose of the treated frack waste through the municipal sewer system was rejected by the local council on the grounds that it might pose a danger to the environment. In an advert taken out in the Truro Daily News, the Brookfield plant stated its intention to recycle treated wastewater for use in the kiln, adding: “The application process is rigorous and thorough. It will be carefully reviewed by the agencies entrusted with protecting our environment”. The advert did not specify the source of the wastewater, which has led to some concern from local people, but the company is working on an FAQ section on its website and has stated its intention to be ‘completely transparent’.

Edited from various sources by Katherine Guenioui

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/the-americas/04122013/cement_plant_proposes_solution_for_frack_wastewater_480/