Passive treatment of acid mine drainage in down-flow limestone systems
- Dept. of Energy, Pittsburgh, PA (United States)
Passive down-flow systems, consisting of compost and/or limestone layers, may be well suited for treatment of acidic mine drainage containing ferric iron and/or aluminum. Two columns were constructed and operated in the laboratory. The first column simulated a downward, vertical-flow anaerobic wetland, also referred to as successive alkalinity-producing systems (SAPS), and has received mine drainage for 97 weeks. The 0.16-m diameter column was vertically oriented and (from bottom to top) consisted of a 0.30-m thick layer of limestone, a 0.76-m thick layer of spent mushroom compost, and 0.91 m of free standing water. Water flowed vertically downward through the system. A second column, filled with only limestone, received water from the same source as the first column. This limestone column contained a 1.06-m thick layer of limestone and 0.91 m of free standing water and has received water for 55 weeks. Actual acid mine drainage (pH = 3.1, acidity = 200 mg/L (as CaCO{sub 3}), SO{sub 4}{sup 2-} = 600 mg/L, Total Fe = 10 mg/L, Mn = 14 mg/L, and Al = 18 mg/L) was collected every two weeks from a nearby abandoned deep mine and applied to these columns at a rate of 3.8 mL/min. For the compost/limestone column, effluent pH remained above 6.2 (6.2-7.9); however, pH at a depth of 0.38 m in the compost (halfway) dropped to < 4 after 28 weeks (net acidic). At the bottom of the compost pH remained > 4.5 for all 97 weeks. Alkalinity was generated by a combination of limestone dissolution and sulfate reduction. Over the 97 week period, the column generated an average of 330 mg/L of alkalinity, mostly due to limestone dissolution. Bacterial sulfate reduction displayed an ever decreasing trend, initially accounting for more than 200 mg/L of alkalinity and after 40 weeks only accounting for about 50 mg/L.
- OSTI ID:
- 613863
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9705128-; TRN: 98:001000-0052
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 14. annual national meeting of the American Society for Surface Mining and Reclamation (ASSMR), Austin, TX (United States), 10-15 May 1997; Other Information: PBD: 1997; Related Information: Is Part Of Vision 2000: An environmental commitment; Brandt, J.E.; Galevotic, J.R.; Kost, L.; Trouart, J. [eds.]; PB: 799 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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