Long term remediation of highly polluted acid mine drainage: A sustainable approach to restore the environmental quality of the Odiel river basin

The Odiel River Basin, located in the Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB), is heavily affected by acid mine drainage (AMD), which occurs when pyritic minerals from sulfide mining areas are exposed to atmospheric, hydrological or biological weathering. This paper presents a hydrochemical characterization of parameters in the Odiel River Basin by means of Fuzzy Logic and data mining methodologies to determine the seasonal influence of AMD in polluted waters that have not been used before for a basin in this environmental area. This technique was proven to be effective, providing results that could not be achieved by using classic statistics, because it allows us to characterize the different parameters separately and also their relationships in waters affected by AMD in a qualitative manner based on the antecedents and according to the conditions (rules) imposed by the consequents (in this case, the Fe(II) and accumulated rainfall over 30 days). Thus, it was possible to confirm that hydrochemistry is greatly affected by seasonal changes, with a higher pH in the wet season (up to 8.59) compared to 2.12, the minimum pH value reached in the dry season. Accordingly, higher concentrations of most of the metals were observed in the dry season (e.g., up to 4000 mg/L of Fe (II)), with the exception of the values found after the first rains that occur in the early fall. With the use of the Fuzzy Logic technique, it was observed that, during the wet season, lixiviates with a higher Fe content have higher metal concentrations, and in the dry season, the behavior is the opposite.

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Assessment of Impacts of Acid Mine Drainage on Surface Water Quality of Tweelopiespruit Micro-Catchment, Limpopo Basin

Water Quality ◽

10.5772/65810 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Bloodless Dzwairo ◽

Munyaradzi Mujuru

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Surface Water ◽

Acid Mine Drainage ◽

Mine Drainage ◽

Surface Water Quality ◽

Acid Mine

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Long-term performance of a UASB reactor treating acid mine drainage: effects of sulfate loading rate, hydraulic retention time, and COD/SO42− ratio

Biodegradation ◽

10.1007/s10532-018-9863-8 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 30 (1) ◽

pp. 47-58 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Mirabelle Perossi Cunha ◽

Rafael Marçal Ferraz ◽

Giselle Patrícia Sancinetti ◽

Renata Piacentini Rodriguez

Keyword(s):

Acid Mine Drainage ◽

Retention Time ◽

Hydraulic Retention Time ◽

Loading Rate ◽

Mine Drainage ◽

Uasb Reactor ◽

Acid Mine ◽

Long Term Performance ◽

Term Performance

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Uranium Bioleaching from Low Grade Ore

Materials Science Forum ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/msf.989.559 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 989 ◽

pp. 559-563

Author(s):

Ashimkhan T. Kanayev ◽

Khussain Valiyev ◽

Aleksandr Bulaev

Keyword(s):

Sulfuric Acid ◽

Acid Mine Drainage ◽

Mine Drainage ◽

Sulfuric Acid Concentration ◽

Acid Leaching ◽

Leach Solution ◽

Low Grade ◽

Bacterial Cells ◽

Acid Mine

The goal of the present work was to perform bioleaching of uranium from low grade ore from Vostok deposit (Republic of Kazakhstan), which was previously subjected to long-term acid leaching. The ore initially contained from 0.15 to 0.20% of uranium in the form of uraninite, but ore samples used in the study contained about 0.05% of uranium, as it was exhausted during acid leaching, and uranium was partially leached. Representative samples of ore were processed in 1 m columns, leach solutions containing 5, 10, 20 g/L of sulfuric acid and bacterial cells (about 104) were percolated through the ore. Leaching was performed at ambient temperature for 70 days. In one of the percolators, the leaching was performed with leaching solution containing 10 g/L of H2SO4, cells of A. ferrooxidans, and 0.5 g/L of formaldehyde. Leaching with the solution containing 5, 10, and 20 g/L of sulfuric acid made it possible to extract 50, 53, and 58% of uranium. Addition of formaldehyde in leach solution led to the decrease in uranium extraction extent down to 37%. Thus, the results of the present work demonstrated that uranium ore exhausted during long-term acid leaching may be successfully subjected to bioleaching, that allows extracting residual quantities of uranium. Leaching rate of uranium from exhausted ore depended on both sulfuric acid concentration and microbial activity of bacteria isolated from acid mine drainage, formed on uranium deposit. In the same time, acid mine drainage may be used as a source of inoculate, to start bioleaching process.

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Co-Disposal of Coal Gangue and Red Mud for Prevention of Acid Mine Drainage Generation from Self-Heating Gangue Dumps

Minerals ◽

10.3390/min10121081 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (12) ◽

pp. 1081

Author(s):

Zhou Ran ◽

Yongtai Pan ◽

Wenli Liu

Keyword(s):

Acid Mine Drainage ◽

Red Mud ◽

Mine Drainage ◽

Coal Gangue ◽

Leaching Tests ◽

Self Heating ◽

Acid Mine ◽

Acid Pollution ◽

Dynamic Leaching

The seepage and diffusion of acid mine drainage (AMD) generated from self-heating coal gangue tailings caused acid pollution to the surrounding soil and groundwater. Red mud derived from the alumina smelting process has a high alkali content. To explore the feasibility of co-disposal of coal gangue and red mud for prevention of AMD, coal gangue and red mud were sampled from Yangquan (Shanxi Province, China), and dynamic leaching tests were carried out through the automatic temperature-controlled leaching system under the conditions of different temperatures, mass ratios, and storage methods. Our findings indicated that the heating temperature had a significant effect on the release characteristics of acidic pollutants derived from coal gangue, and that the fastest rate of acid production corresponding to temperature was 150 °C. The co-disposal dynamic leaching tests indicated that red mud not only significantly alleviated the release of AMD but also that it had a long-term effect on the treatment of acid pollution. The mass ratio and stacking method were selected to be 12:1 (coal gangue: red mud) and one layer was alternated (coal gangue covered with red mud), respectively, to ensure that the acid-base pollution indices of leachate reached the WHO drinking-water quality for long-term discharge. The results of this study provided a theoretical basis and data support for the industrial field application of solid waste co-treatment.

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