Membrane technology applied to acid mine drainage from copper mining

The objective of this study is to evaluate the treatment of high-strength acid mine drainage (AMD) from copper mining by nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) at pilot scale. The performances of two commercial spiral-wound membranes – NF99 and RO98pHt, both from Alfa Laval – were compared. The effects of pressure and feed flow on ion rejection and permeate flux were evaluated. The results showed high ion removal under optimum pressure conditions, which reached 92% for the NF99 membrane and 98% for the RO98pHt membrane. Sulfate removal reached 97% and 99% for NF99 and RO98pHt, respectively. In the case of copper, aluminum, iron and manganese, the removal percentage surpassed 95% in both membranes. Although concentration polarization limited NF performance at higher pressures, permeate fluxes observed in NF were five times greater than those obtained by RO, with only slightly lower divalent ion rejection rates, making it a promising option for the treatment of AMD.

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Mechanisms and Remediation Technologies of Sulfate Removal from Acid Mine Drainage

Advanced Materials Research ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.610-613.3252 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 610-613 ◽

pp. 3252-3256

Author(s):

Mei Qin Chen ◽

Feng Ji Wu

Keyword(s):

Heavy Metals ◽

Acid Mine Drainage ◽

Mine Drainage ◽

Metal Corrosion ◽

Sulfate Ion ◽

High Concentration ◽

Biological Reduction ◽

Acid Mine ◽

Sulfate Removal ◽

Co Precipitation

Acid mine drainage (AMD) has properties of extreme acidification, quantities of sulfate and elevated levels of soluble heavy metals. It was a widespread environmental problem that caused adverse effects to the qualities of ground water and surface water. In the past decades, most of investigations were focused on the heavy metals as their toxicities for human and animals. As another main constitution of AMD, sulfate ion is nontoxic, yet high concentration of sulfate ion can cause many problems such as soil acidification, metal corrosion and health problems. More attention should be paid on the sulfate ion when people focus on the AMD. In the paper, sulfate removal mechanisms include adsorption, precipitation, co-precipitation and biological reduction were analyzed and summarized. Meanwhile, the remediation technologies, especially the applications of them in China were also presented and discussed.

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Effect of COD/SO42- Supply Ratio Variations of Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria of Sulphood Raise in Acid Mine Drainage

E3S Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/e3sconf/20187305009 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 73 ◽

pp. 05009

Author(s):

Hardyanti Nurandani ◽

Utomo Sudarno ◽

Oktaviana Angelica ◽

Serafina Katrin ◽

Junaidi Junaidi

Keyword(s):

Acid Mine Drainage ◽

Sulphur Dioxide ◽

Mine Drainage ◽

Removal Rate ◽

Batch Reactor ◽

Septic Tank ◽

Mining Activities ◽

Sulfate Reducing ◽

Acid Mine ◽

Sulfate Removal

Sulphur dioxide gas is one of most contaminating gas in the air. Sulphur gas can be produced by mining activities. Sulphur gas will be harmful if bond with CO2 to form as Sulphur Dioxide. To reduce the Sulphur Dioxide gas concentration we must inhibite the sulphur gas formation from mining activities. The inhibition of sulphur gas could be done by reduce the sulphate concentration in acid mine drainage. One of important factor that influencing the reduce of sulphate is COD/SO42- ratio. The effect of COD/SO42- ratio on bacterial growth and sulfate removal process can be investigated with anaerobic batch reactor. The laundry septic tank sediments were inoculated on an anaerobic batch reactor which were contacted with artificial coal acid mine water wastes with 1000 sulfate concentrations and 2000 mg SO42- /L. In an anaerobic batch reactor there are five reactors with variations of COD / SO42-1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 4.0, and 8.0 ratios. Efficiency ratio and the best sulfate removal rate is in reactor ratio 2.0 with value efficiency of 46.58% and a reduction rate of 29.128 mg / L.day in an anaerobic batch reactor. The efficiency of the removal rate decreased when the COD / SO42->2.0 ratio decreased. The fastest pH decline was in the COD/SO42-8.0 ratio variation in the anaerobic batch reactor and. The COD / SO42-ratio can help the sulfate reduction process in the optimum value by affecting the sulfate-reducing bacterial metabolism in the balance of the acceptor and the electron donor.

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Evaluation of Dispersed Alkaline Substrate and Diffusive Exchange System Technologies for the Passive Treatment of Copper Mining Acid Drainage

Water ◽

10.3390/w12030854 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 854 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Alex Schwarz ◽

Iván Nancucheo ◽

Maria A. Gaete ◽

Diego Muñoz ◽

Pamela Sanhueza ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mine Drainage ◽

Removal Rate ◽

High Strength ◽

Passive Treatment ◽

Copper Mining ◽

Exchange System ◽

Hydraulic Residence Time ◽

Sulfate Reducing ◽

Sulfate Removal ◽

Diffusive Exchange

The study evaluates the performance of the novel ADES (alkaline diffusive exchange System), SDES (sulfidogenic diffusive exchange system) and DAS (Dispersed Alkaline Substrate) technologies for the passive treatment of high-strength acid mine drainage (AMD) from copper mining (pH~3, 633 mg Cu L−1). The chemical DAS and ADES prototypes showed the best performance in the removal of Cu, Al, and Zn (98–100%), while the biochemical SDES reactors achieved a high sulfate removal rate (average of 0.28 mol m−3 day-1). Notably, the DES technology was effective in protecting the sulfate-reducing communities from the high toxicity of the AMD, and also in maintaining bed permeability, an aspect that was key in the ADES reactor. The DAS reactor showed the highest reactivity, accumulating the metallic precipitates in a lower reactor volume, allowing to conclude that it requires the lowest hydraulic residence time among all the reactors. However, the concentration of precipitates resulted in the formation of a hardpan, which may trigger the need of removing it to avoid compromising the continuity of the treatment process. This study suggests the development of new treatment alternatives by combining the strengths of each technology in combined or serial treatments.

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The use of a passive treatment system for the mitigation of acid mine drainage at the Williams Brothers Mine (California): pilot-scale study

Journal of Cleaner Production ◽

10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.03.145 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 130 ◽

pp. 116-125 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Erin J. Clyde ◽

Pascale Champagne ◽

Heather E. Jamieson ◽

Caitlin Gorman ◽

John Sourial

Keyword(s):

Acid Mine Drainage ◽

Mine Drainage ◽

Pilot Scale ◽

Passive Treatment ◽

Treatment System ◽

Acid Mine

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Regeneration of barium carbonate from barium sulphide in a pilot-scale bubbling column reactor and utilization for acid mine drainage

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2012.857 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 65 (2) ◽

pp. 324-331 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

J. Mulopo ◽

J. N. Zvimba ◽

H. Swanepoel ◽

L. T. Bologo ◽

J. Maree

Keyword(s):

Acid Mine Drainage ◽

Flow Rate ◽

Mine Drainage ◽

Barium Carbonate ◽

Pilot Scale ◽

Carbonation Reaction ◽

Column Reactor ◽

Acid Mine ◽

Sulphate Removal ◽

Co2 Flow

Batch regeneration of barium carbonate (BaCO3) from barium sulphide (BaS) slurries by passing CO2 gas into a pilot-scale bubbling column reactor under ambient conditions was used to assess the technical feasibility of BaCO3 recovery in the Alkali Barium Calcium (ABC) desalination process and its use for sulphate removal from high sulphate Acid Mine Drainage (AMD). The effect of key process parameters, such as BaS slurry concentration and CO2 flow rate on the carbonation, as well as the extent of sulphate removal from AMD using the recovered BaCO3 were investigated. It was observed that the carbonation reaction rate for BaCO3 regeneration in a bubbling column reactor significantly increased with increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) flow rate whereas the BaS slurry content within the range 5–10% slurry content did not significantly affect the carbonation rate. The CO2 flow rate also had an impact on the BaCO3 morphology. The BaCO3 recovered from the pilot-scale bubbling column reactor demonstrated effective sulphate removal ability during AMD treatment compared with commercial BaCO3.

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Stream Monitoring and Preliminary Co-Treatment of Acid Mine Drainage and Municipal Wastewater along Dunkard Creek Area

Hydro Science & Marine Engineering ◽

10.30564/hsme.v2i2.2448 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Dongyang Deng ◽

Lian-shin Lin ◽

Andrea Nana Ofori-Boadu

Keyword(s):

Acid Mine Drainage ◽

Phase I ◽

Phase Ii ◽

Municipal Wastewater ◽

Mine Drainage ◽

Combined Treatment ◽

Stream Monitoring ◽

Acid Mine ◽

Sulfate Removal ◽

Wide Range

This study investigated coal-mine drainage (AMD) and municipal wastewater (MWW) contaminant concentrations and conducted the combined treatment in phases I and II: phase I, evaluating effects of mixing the two based on extent of acid neutralization and metals removal; phase II: conducting anaerobic batch reactor treatment of AMD and MWW under varying COD/sulfate ratios (0.04-5.0). In phase I, acid mine drainage water quality conditions are as follows: pH 4.5, acidity 467.5 mg/L as CaCO3, alkalinity 96.0 mg/L as CaCO3, Cl- 11.8 mg/L, SO42- 1722 mg/L, TDS 2757.5 mg/L, TSS 9.8 mg/L, BOD 14.7 mg/L, Fe 138.1 mg/L, Mg 110.8 mg/L. Mn 7.5 mg/L, Al 8.1 mg/L, Na 114.2 mg/L, and Ca 233.5 mg/L. Results of the mixing experiments indicated significant removal of selected metals (Fe 85~98%, Mg 0~65%, Mn 63~89%, Al 98~99%, Na 0~30%), acidity (77~95%) from the mine water and pH was raised to above 6.3. The Phase II results suggested under the wide range of COD/sulfate ratios, COD and sulfate removal varied from 37.4%-100% and 0%-93.5% respectively. During biological treatment, alkalinity was generated which leads to pH increase to around 7.6-8.5. The results suggested feasibility of the proposed technology for co-treatment of AMD and MWW. A conceptual design of co-treatment system which is expected to remove a matrix of pollutants has been provided to utilize all the locally available water resources to achieve the optimum treatment efficiency. The technology also offers an opportunity to significantly reduce capital and operating costs compared to the existing treatment methodologies used.

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Mesoporous Poly(melamine-co-formaldehyde) Particles for Efficient and Selective Phosphate and Sulfate Removal

Molecules ◽

10.3390/molecules26216615 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 26 (21) ◽

pp. 6615

Author(s):

Konstantin B. L. Borchert ◽

Christine Steinbach ◽

Berthold Reis ◽

Niklas Gerlach ◽

Philipp Zimmermann ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Acid Mine Drainage ◽

Mine Drainage ◽

Selective Adsorption ◽

Mineral Resources ◽

Hybrid Particles ◽

Aquatic Life ◽

Acid Mine ◽

Surface Areas ◽

Sulfate Removal ◽

Adsorption Capacities

Due to the existence-threatening risk to aquatic life and entire ecosystems, the removal of oxyanions such as sulfate and phosphate from anthropogenic wastewaters, such as municipal effluents and acid mine drainage, is inevitable. Furthermore, phosphorus is an indispensable resource for worldwide plant fertilization, which cannot be replaced by any other substance. This raises phosphate to one of the most important mineral resources worldwide. Thus, efficient recovery of phosphate is essential for ecosystems and the economy. To face the harsh acidic conditions, such as for acid mine drainage, an adsorber material with a high chemical resistivity is beneficial. Poly(melamine-co-formaldehyde) (PMF) sustains these conditions whilst its very high amount of nitrogen functionalities (up to 53.7 wt.%) act as efficient adsorption sides. To increase adsorption capacities, PMF was synthesized in the form of mesoporous particles using a hard-templating approach yielding specific surface areas up to 409 m2/g. Different amounts of silica nanospheres were utilized as template and evaluated for the adsorption of sulfate and phosphate ions. The adsorption isotherms were validated by the Langmuir model. Due to their properties, the PMF particles possessed outperforming maximum adsorption capacities of 341 and 251 mg/g for phosphate and sulfate, respectively. Furthermore, selective adsorption of sulfate from mixed solutions of phosphate and sulfate was found for silica/PMF hybrid particles.

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Nanofiltration of Simulated Acid Mine Drainage: Effect of pH and Membrane Charge

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app10010400 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 400 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Ye Wee Siew ◽

Karina Listiarini Zedda ◽

Svetlozar Velizarov

Keyword(s):

Acid Mine Drainage ◽

Salt Solution ◽

Mine Drainage ◽

Membrane Surface ◽

Ionic Composition ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Mixed Salt ◽

Membrane Charge ◽

Acid Mine ◽

Ion Rejection

Acid mine drainage (AMD) is a severe form of environmental pollution that has the potential to contaminate surface and ground waters by introducing heavy metals and lowering the pH. The feasibility of using nanofiltration (NF) as a potentially attractive and cost-effective remediation method to treat acid mine drainage was investigated in this study. The performance of an acid-stable NF membrane focusing on the effects of the water pH and membrane charge on ion rejection was systematically studied. A single salt solution experiment showed that Mg, Cu, and Mn containing species were highly rejected at above 97%. Below the membrane iso-electric point (IEP), Mn showed an increased rejection of 99%, while Mg and Mn rejections were relatively constant within the investigated pH range of pH 2 to 7. Rejection of monovalent Cl− decreased with increasing concentration of an accompanying divalent SO42−, showing that Donnan related effects are more prominent at higher ionic concentrations. The sulfate rejection decreased drastically below pH 3 due to the formation of HSO4−, which permeated through the membrane, which can be utilized as a way of separation of the metals from the accompanying sulfur-containing compounds. For mixed salt solutions, rejection of silicate dropped from 52% to 38% when magnesium sulfate was added, owing to shielding of the membrane surface charge by Mg2+ ions. The NF process performance with a simulated AMD solution was found to be similar to that with model salt solution experiments, both in terms of ion rejection values and general pH-dependent rejection trends. The results obtained can be used as a fast preliminary tool for evaluating the feasibility of using NF for treating AMD with a given ionic composition and pH.

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