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Treatment of Percolate from Metal Sulfide Mine Tailings with a Permeable Reactive Barrier of Transformed Red Mud
Author(s) -
Zijlstra J.J.P.,
Dessì R.,
Peretti R.,
Zucca A.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
water environment research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.356
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1554-7531
pISSN - 1061-4303
DOI - 10.2175/106143009x12487095236432
Subject(s) - tailings , permeable reactive barrier , arsenic , cadmium , red mud , acid mine drainage , zinc , chemistry , metal , sulfide , manganese , environmental chemistry , sulfate , pellets , copper , metallurgy , environmental remediation , geology , materials science , contamination , ecology , oceanography , biology
Metal sulfide tailings of the Sardinian (Italy) abandoned Baccu Locci arsenic mine show high concentrations of aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, copper, manganese, lead, and zinc in acid percolate (pH = 4) and have been classified as “dangerous waste.” This paper shows that the release of toxic metals can be strongly reduced when the tailings are placed on a reactive permeable bed (7 wt %) of porous, alkaline pellets of transformed red mud (TRM). During a laboratory percolation test, two columns with 80 kg of waste, of which one contained a bottom layer of TRM pellets, were each alimented with 600 L of de‐ionized water. Comparing pH, electroconductivity, metal, and sulfate concentrations of collected percolate from both columns demonstrates efficient neutralization (pH = 7.4) and removal of metals (80 to 99%) for the column with the permeable reactive bottom layer.