Chilean Evaporation Ponds is presented by Tom LeTourneau Canadian General Tower

1. Chilean Evaporation Ponds
• Presented by Tom LeTourneau
• Canadian General Tower
FGI
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2. Project Site (Solar de Atacama, Chile)
• El. 7,000 feet
• Underground
Brine Reservoirs
• Driest Desert –
rarely cloudy &
windy
• Great
evaporation
FGI
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3. Project Details
• Lined ponds to hold pumped brine
• Ponds – 10 ft deep, 3000 ft x 1000 ft
• 20 to 30 mil PVC Geomembrane Panels
• Panel Size = 1000 ft x 50 ft to reduce field seaming
• Panels weigh 3 tons (6,600 lbs)
• 325,000 ft2 of PVC deployed/day
• Panels seamed using solvents & wedge-welders
• Seams are tested destructively and/or non-destructively
• Entire liner checked by leak location techniques
• PVC placed on compacted clay subgrade
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• PVC protected with finely crushed salt layer
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4. Project Details
• Wells drilled to pump brine into ponds
• Water evaporates from brine leaving mineral rich salt
• Salt is excavated from ponds and salts separated
• Potassium (fertilizer)
• Lithium (batteries – largest source)
• Boric Acid
• Liners must function otherwise brine is lost!!
• One year for evaporation yields 3 feet of salt
FGI
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5. FGI
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6. FGI
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7. FGI
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8. FGI
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9. FGI
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10. FGI
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11. Project Details
Largest PVC geomembrane installation in world
•
• More than 16 million ft2 of PVC geomembrane installed since
1996
• PVC geomembrane performing well in harsh environment
FGI
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