Baha Abulnaga, P.E.
Capsule and Slurry Pipeline Research Lab
Mineral Concentrate is transported over hundreds of kilometers using slurry at a maximum volume concentration of 35%.
One method for reducing further the volume of water consists of encapsulating filtered concentrate first in plastic capsules before sending into the pipeline.
An innovative approach is offered by Splitvane Engineers Inc, to send concentrate into filled capsules through a pipeline, called Hydraulic Capsule Pipeline (HCP).
Capsules occupy 85% of the pipeline. By comparison with slurry pipelines, the capsule pipeline results in
Baha Abulnaga was selected in 2019 as top winner in a competition to develop new technologies for removal of sediments from water reservoirs organized by the US Bureau of Land reclamation.