Passive treatment of acid mine drainage in down-flow limestone systems

Conference · Wed Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1997

OSTI ID:613863

Watzlaf, G R ^[1]

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1. 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--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ACID MINE DRAINAGE
COAL MINES
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
GROUND WATER
LAND RECLAMATION
LIMESTONE
REMEDIAL ACTION
SURFACE MINING
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WATER QUALITY