Fluvial metal transport near sources of acid mine-drainage: Relationships of soluble, suspended and deposited metal

AbstractThe Afon Goch (Anglesey, UK) is a short (12 km source to estuary) stream highly contaminated by acid mine drainage (AMD) throughout its length, due to past-mining at the head of the stream. Metal distribution is strongly controlled by the pH, which increases downstream particularly at confluences with two unpolluted tributaries. A pH increase causes precipitation of metals, primarily Fe as hydroxide, thus altering the transport of the metal load, potentially allowing storage of metal within the river as deposited material. However, further work suggests that the controls on whether metal can behave non-conservatively, and therefore the controls on metal distribution, are more complicated than being purely pH dependent. This is because much of the Fe load, even at the low pH at the head of the stream, is not soluble Fe3+but colloidal Fe hydroxide. Consequently, coagulation is a requisite intermediate step between precipitation and potential for settling. It is possible that in reaches of the stream away from tributary confluences, the process of coagulation is the predominant influence on metal distribution. Furthermore, because much of the metal load in the water column is very fine, its deposition results in a sediment in which the metals can be intimately associated with a biofilm at the sediment/water interface. Such associations change both deposition and erosion characteristics of the sediment and have implications for subsequent diagenesis and mineral morphology.

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Microbial stratification in low pH oxic and suboxic macroscopic growths along an acid mine drainage

The ISME Journal ◽

10.1038/ismej.2013.242 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 8 (6) ◽

pp. 1259-1274 ◽

Cited By ~ 52

Author(s):

Celia Méndez-García ◽

Victoria Mesa ◽

Richard R Sprenger ◽

Michael Richter ◽

María Suárez Diez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Acid Mine Drainage ◽

Mine Drainage ◽

Low Ph ◽

Acid Mine

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Column experiments for microbiological treatment of acid mine drainage: low-temperature, low-pH and matrix investigations

Water Research ◽

10.1016/j.watres.2003.12.012 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 38 (6) ◽

pp. 1405-1418 ◽

Cited By ~ 102

Author(s):

T.K Tsukamoto ◽

H.A Killion ◽

G.C Miller

Keyword(s):

Low Temperature ◽

Acid Mine Drainage ◽

Mine Drainage ◽

Low Ph ◽

Column Experiments ◽

Acid Mine ◽

Microbiological Treatment

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Mg/Al LDH Enhances Sulfate removal and Clarification of AMD Wastewater in Precipitation Processes

Materials ◽

10.3390/ma12142334 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (14) ◽

pp. 2334 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Paulina Maziarz ◽

Jakub Matusik ◽

Tiina Leiviskä

Keyword(s):

Acid Mine Drainage ◽

Calcium Hydroxide ◽

Settling Velocity ◽

Mine Drainage ◽

Low Ph ◽

Initial Concentration ◽

Sulfate Removal ◽

Ph Increase ◽

Double Hydroxide ◽

Different Doses

The sulfate removal from acid mine drainage (AMD) water (initial concentration: 5301 mg/L) was investigated by precipitation and/or adsorption using calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) and synthetic layered double hydroxide (LDH) of the Mg/Al type. The exclusive use of LDH efficiently removed sulfates (64.2% reduction); however, alteration of its structure was observed due to low pH. The use of Ca(OH)2 in different doses calculated in relation to gypsum stoichiometry allowed to achieve an 86% removal of sulfates. Depending on the equilibrium pH, gypsum or ettringite were the main identified phases. The two-step removal, involving the use of Ca(OH)2 followed by LDH, was less efficient than the use of the Ca(OH)2/LDH mixture when the stoichiometric amount of Ca(OH)2 in relation to gypsum was applied. The application of mixture resulted in a fast pH increase, which prevented destruction of the LDH structure. Most importantly, the use of mixture significantly reduced the sludge volume and enhanced its settling velocity.

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Reconstruction of the Metabolic Potential of Acidophilic Sideroxydans Strains from the Metagenome of an Microaerophilic Enrichment Culture of Acidophilic Iron-Oxidizing Bacteria from a Pilot Plant for the Treatment of Acid Mine Drainage Reveals Metabolic Versatility and Adaptation to Life at Low pH

Frontiers in Microbiology ◽

10.3389/fmicb.2016.02082 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Martin Mühling ◽

Anja Poehlein ◽

Anna Stuhr ◽

Matthias Voitel ◽

Rolf Daniel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Acid Mine Drainage ◽

Pilot Plant ◽

Mine Drainage ◽

Enrichment Culture ◽

Low Ph ◽

Metabolic Potential ◽

Acid Mine ◽

Metabolic Versatility ◽

Iron Oxidizing Bacteria

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Efficient Low-pH Iron Removal by a Microbial Iron Oxide Mound Ecosystem at Scalp Level Run

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.00015-17 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 83 (7) ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Christen L. Grettenberger ◽

Alexandra R. Pearce ◽

Kyle J. Bibby ◽

Daniel S. Jones ◽

William D. Burgos ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Acid Mine Drainage ◽

Bacterial Community ◽

Microbial Communities ◽

Mine Drainage ◽

Iron Oxidation ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Low Ph ◽

Content Type ◽

Oxidation Rates ◽

Acid Mine

ABSTRACT Acid mine drainage (AMD) is a major environmental problem affecting tens of thousands of kilometers of waterways worldwide. Passive bioremediation of AMD relies on microbial communities to oxidize and remove iron from the system; however, iron oxidation rates in AMD environments are highly variable among sites. At Scalp Level Run (Cambria County, PA), first-order iron oxidation rates are 10 times greater than at other coal-associated iron mounds in the Appalachians. We examined the bacterial community at Scalp Level Run to determine whether a unique community is responsible for the rapid iron oxidation rate. Despite strong geochemical gradients, including a >10-fold change in the concentration of ferrous iron from 57.3 mg/liter at the emergence to 2.5 mg/liter at the base of the coal tailings pile, the bacterial community composition was nearly constant with distance from the spring outflow. Scalp Level Run contains many of the same taxa present in other AMD sites, but the community is dominated by two strains of Ferrovum myxofaciens, a species that is associated with high rates of Fe(II) oxidation in laboratory studies. IMPORTANCE Acid mine drainage pollutes more than 19,300 km of rivers and streams and 72,000 ha of lakes worldwide. Remediation is frequently ineffective and costly, upwards of $100 billion globally and nearly $5 billion in Pennsylvania alone. Microbial Fe(II) oxidation is more efficient than abiotic Fe(II) oxidation at low pH (P. C. Singer and W. Stumm, Science 167:1121–1123, 1970, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.167.3921.1121 ). Therefore, AMD bioremediation could harness microbial Fe(II) oxidation to fuel more-cost-effective treatments. Advances will require a deeper understanding of the ecology of Fe(II)-oxidizing microbial communities and the factors that control their distribution and rates of Fe(II) oxidation. We investigated bacterial communities that inhabit an AMD site with rapid Fe(II) oxidation and found that they were dominated by two operational taxonomic units (OTUs) of Ferrovum myxofaciens, a taxon associated with high laboratory rates of iron oxidation. This research represents a step forward in identifying taxa that can be used to enhance cost-effective AMD bioremediation.

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1-Dimensional numerical modelling of unsaturated water flow and oxygen diffusion in overburden material column using hydrus 1-D

IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science ◽

10.1088/1755-1315/882/1/012064 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 882 (1) ◽

pp. 012064

Author(s):

Jarwinda ◽

A Badhurahman ◽

G J Kusuma ◽

R S Gautama

Keyword(s):

Acid Mine Drainage ◽

Water Content ◽

Mine Drainage ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Low Ph ◽

Acid Mine ◽

Overburden Material ◽

Constant Head ◽

Unsaturated Condition ◽

And Diffusion

Abstract Coal mining activities, especially overburden material dumping can cause a negative impact into the environment, i.e., acid mine drainage, Acid mine drainage is characterized as low pH water with high sulphate and metal content produced from sulphidic-bearing overburden material with oxygen and water. In unsaturated condition, both of gaseous and water phases exist, acid mine drainage is generated. This study aims to characterize and model the water content in unsaturated condition and diffusion of oxygen of overburden material using the Hydrus 1-D software in a laboratory-scaled column. Laboratory-scaled column is initially filled with 75-cm height of dry overburden material and subjected into 5-cm constant head water level at the top of the column with free-flow condition at the bottom of column. The modelling result shows the water content of overburden material varies within depth and time elapsed and is saturated between 32400 minutes and 36000 minutes after initial wetting. Diffusivity of oxygen is linearly correlated with the water content of the overburden material at any given time and depth that varies between 1.34 × 10−7 m2/s and 8.80 × 10−12 m2/s. Water content and diffusivity of oxygen is expected to affect the generation of acid mine drainage in the overburden material.

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Heavy metal distribution and evolution in acid mine drainage system developed from nickel sulfide tailings (Western Australia)

Chinese Journal of Geochemistry ◽

10.1007/bf02839792 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 25 (S1) ◽

pp. 30-31 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Liangqi Lei

Keyword(s):

Heavy Metal ◽

Acid Mine Drainage ◽

Western Australia ◽

Nickel Sulfide ◽

Mine Drainage ◽

Drainage System ◽

Metal Distribution ◽

Heavy Metal Distribution ◽

Acid Mine ◽

Sulfide Tailings

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Behaviour of Fe, Mg and Ca in acid mine drainage and experimental solutions in the presence of Aspergillus niger species isolated from various environment

Nova Biotechnologica et Chimica ◽

10.36547/nbc.1116 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Alexandra Šimonovičová ◽

Jana Barteková ◽

Ľubica Janovová ◽

Alena Luptáková

Keyword(s):

Aspergillus Niger ◽

Acid Mine Drainage ◽

Mine Drainage ◽

Low Ph ◽

Model Solution ◽

Acid Sulphate ◽

Acid Mine ◽

Mining Region

This article analyzes the ability of micromycetes to accumulate Fe, Mg and Ca from acid mine drainage (AMD) at the locality Smolník. Four strains of the Aspergillus niger (An) species originating from various types of environment were used in the experiments: the An-G strain (the locality of Gabčíkovo, Eutric Fluvisol), the An-P strain (the locality of Pezinok-Kolársky vrch, mining region with elevated amounts of As and Sb), the An-N strain (the locality of Nováky, mining region with elevated amounts of As and S), the An-Š strain (Banská ŠtiavnicaŠobov, the locality impacted by an acid sulphate weathering and extremely low pH). In the most cases the accumulation of Mg was the highest in comparison to accumulation of Fe. Accumulation of Ca was very low. Among the tested microfungi, the highest accumulation was noted by the strain An-N 55 % of Mg and by the strain An-Š 54 % of Fe from the model solution of the elements (Fe [1.67 mg/L], Mg [2.35 mg/L] and Ca [1.14 mg/L]).

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