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Remediation of acid mine drainage leachate by a physicochemical and biological treatment‐train approach
Author(s) -
Ngwenya Elvis G.,
Walsh Maud,
MetoshDickey Caroline A.,
Portier Ralph J.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
remediation journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.762
H-Index - 27
eISSN - 1520-6831
pISSN - 1051-5658
DOI - 10.1002/rem.20082
Subject(s) - acid mine drainage , biopolymer , sulfate , hydrogen sulfide , chemistry , environmental remediation , leachate , sulfide , bioreactor , precipitation , lime , chelation , copper , sulfate reducing bacteria , sulfide minerals , sulfur , environmental chemistry , inorganic chemistry , metallurgy , materials science , contamination , ecology , physics , organic chemistry , meteorology , biology , polymer
Biological and physicochemical approaches were utilized in a treatment train for acid mine dis charge (AMD) waters. Anaerobic bioreactors, chemical precipitation reactors, and biopolymer chelation reactors, operated in static, semicontinuous, and continuous flow modes, removed significant quantities of metals and sulfates associated with AMD water. Static tests indicated accept able copper removal via precipitation by generation of hydrogen sulfide in anaerobic reactors. However, low pH affected the biopolymer coating in the chelation reactor, resulting in loss of bed surface. Corrections of AMD to pH > 7 resulted in some metal precipitationprior to biopolymer treatment. A series of static semicontinuous tests at pH 5.0 provided improved metal and sulfate removal. Copper (Cu + ) was reduced to trace concentrations, while manganese (Mn + ), although reduced, proved to be the most recalcitrant of the metals. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.