Abstract
Acid mine drainage (AMD) of the abandoned coal mines of the Kizelovsky coal basin (the Urals, Russia) is one of the worst natural disasters in the region. Acidic sulphate waters with a high content of metals freely flow into the surface water bodies. Arsenic, found in elevated concentrations in AMD, is an element of concern due to its potential toxicity to humans and animals. The aim of this work is determination of chemical speciation of inorganic arsenic in AMD as well as the surface water and groundwater affected by mine drainage, and assessment the natural removal of As from mine drainage due to adsorption on precipitated hydrous ferric oxide (HFO). Geochemical speciation (PHREEQC) revealed that arsenic occurs in all water samples as As(V). Surface complexation model shows that, HFO induced by the natural attenuation process may remove 46–85% of total arsenic in AMD and only 28% in polluted groundwater (on average).
Copper removal from acid mine drainage-polluted water using glutaraldehyde-polyethyleneimine modified diatomaceous earth particles